Normalcy
by MurderComplication
Summary: Hikaru's life goal was to become a hero. Unfortunately, her life has taken a different path, landing her as the talented guitarist for Strike. Hikaru tries to juggle school, the band, and her childhood best friend.
1. Prelude

A small brunette girl with large blue eyes and a wide toothy smile with missing front teeth sat across from a small spiky-haired blonde boy with beady red eyes. She was busy drawing a puppy on his forearm with a black sharpie. He wore a simple red t-shirt and cream shorts.

"I can't wait until I get my quirk," the boy smiled at the girl. Her pin-straight bangs brushed the bottom of her brow.

The girl looked at her work for a moment before adding in some cross-hatching, "you'll get your quirk soon too Katsuki! Until then - I'll keep you safe!"

"I hope it's as cool as yours," Katsuki smiled. The girl pulled away, putting the lid on the sharpie and placed it into the hollow of the tree behind them. They kept their favourite treasures here. The cartoon puppy on Katsuki's forearm blinked. Its tail began to wag. The two children giggled as the image came to life, running up Katsuki's arm and back down, jumping up excitedly.

"Hey Katsuki," the girl frowned, looking at the ground. Her finger traced a line in the dirt. "When we're bigger, do you want to be a hero?"

Katsuki gasped, "of course Karu! I want to be the bestest hero ever. Bester than All Might." He stood up, hands on his hips as he struck his superhero pose.

"No way," Karu sputtered. "No one is bestest than All Might!"

"We could be heroes together," Katsuki smiled. Karu jumped up, her yellow sunflower embroidered dress swishing around her. She cheered and stuck the same pose.

Karu frowned after a moment, tears welling up in her eyes, "but Katsuki, I won't be here anymore."

Katsuki frowned, remembering his best friend was moving away tomorrow. "I know! How about we both promise to go to U.A. together." He stuck out his pinky.

"You promise?" She wiped the tears away before giving her friend her pinky. They wrapped their fingers together and shook.

"Promise."


	2. Day One

I walked by a group of U.A. students crowded around their phone; my eyes focused on the ground. My right hand poised on the brim of my baseball cap. "Strike is taking a hiatus from touring and creating new music. The band members made this announcement last week at their final show in New York. Lead singer Honda and bass Kashima reportedly will be focusing on getting into university. Saito will be working on a solo project and Nakamura will be entering her first year of high school. We wish them luck during their time away."

The end of lunch bell rang. I rolled my eyes, shoving my hands into my pants pocket. I cracked my neck and wandered away from the group as they scurried in the other direction. I was late on my first day already. Well, I had already missed three weeks of school, so my first impression was already made. I found the closed door to class 1-A and pulled it open.

"Nakamura, you're late." Our homeroom teacher frowned from behind his podium. I let my shoulders fall back with a shrug and entered the class.

I had video-called Aizawa and some of the other teachers while I was on tour to keep up to date on the work I'd be missing. "Sorry Aizawa, I took the long way to school," I stopped and stood beside him. Some of my classmates lit up while some sat there in disbelief.

"This is Hikaru Nakamura, she had work to finish up before attending U.A. – please treat her like a regular student," our teacher sighed. "You can sit now." I gave him a nod and walked over to the empty seat in the middle of the room and sat down, letting my bookbag fall onto the desk. "The hat." I frowned, playing with the hoop in my lip with my tongue. I lifted the hat off my head, my bleached and ombre dyed sea-foam blue hair fell to my mid-back. I hung the hat on the side of the desk. I crossed my legs and my arms, ignoring the stares and gave our teacher my attention. My hand with a large tattooed arrow on the back of it tapped away on my upper arm.

"Aizawa – is it not against the dress code to decorate one's body and change one's hair colour?" A clean-cut, glasses-wearing boy stood up in his seat with his hand raised.

Our teacher Aizawa ignored his question. "You will have a rescue focused hero class today. Get changed into your costume and meet at the front of the school to get on the buses." The boy stayed standing with his hand raised. No one moved. Our teacher sighed, "due to the nature of Nakamura's work there were stipulations made to allow her to study at U.A. Her appearance remaining unchanged is one of those."

"Why is she wearing the boy's uniform?" Another spoke from behind me. Ignore it. He's not worth your time. Other boys began to chime in.

I turned around quickly and stamped my foot on the side of his desk, tilting it into his lap, "not all girls wear skits." I kept my glare on the redhead for a moment before turning and grabbed my case from the wall. "Let's not waste any more time." I left the classroom before anyone else dared to move. I had been here before for a special exam exception due to our crazy world tour schedule and had been to the change rooms – but could I remember where to go.

"Hikaru," a girl rushed up to me. I turned and looked at her over my shoulder, "let's walk to the change rooms together." She pointed in the other direction. Yep, my sense of direction sucked.

"Sure," I tossed my case over my shoulder and walked with her.

"I'm Ochako Uraraka," she smiled, holding her case with both hands in front of her, "that was really cool what you did back there!"

"Thanks," I muttered, looking out the window at the third-year class' training exercise in the oval outside.

Her voice went quiet as she looked over her shoulder, "watch out for Mineta and Kaminari – they're the class perverts." I smirked and thanked her as we went down the stairs. "My quirk is anti-gravity, what's yours?"

"Animate. Whatever I draw comes alive." I smiled at her. I was used to needing to hide my quirk all the time and let the others shine since they had entertainment quirks, but now that I was at U.A. I could use and be proud of it.

Her eyes widened as we stopped in front of the changing rooms, "that's so cool! I can't wait to see that." I gave her a larger smile. Maybe I could have a friend. We entered the changing room and I went into a stall. I opened the case and slipped off my combined uniform. I pulled on the white flared, high-waisted shorts and black short-sleeved crop top. I slipped the utility belt over my hips and let it rest lopsided. It was full of sharpies and cans of spray paint in various colours. I turned around and looked at my back in the mirror. My solid black arrow tattoos extended from my back, down my legs and arms. I used to draw them on myself all the time when I was growing up, but when we were touring in Germany, I had found someone willing to tattoo them on a fourteen-year-old. I opened the stall; everyone was busy ogling themselves, so I was able to easily slip out of the changing room. A spiky-haired boy stood across from the doors.

"So, you managed to do it," a blonde-haired boy stood with his arms crossed. His fists were covered in giant grenade wristlets with smaller ones at his waist. Large black and orange explosion patterns extended from his mask behind his head. His shirt was black with a large red 'x' across it with baggy black pants and silver knee guards.

"Long time no see Katsuki," I frowned as I walked past the boy. I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail and exited the hall into the light of the front of the school. Aizawa stood lazily against the gate, looking at his watch.

"Been working on your quirk?" Aizawa looked up at me.

I shrugged, "not much that I could do but work on replication more." I pulled out one of the sharpies at my waist and quickly drew a small white stick figure on the side of the gate. The small figure waved its arms before flipping us off and running off across the gate. "They don't like me even signing autographs cause I can't help but draw something that comes alive."

Aizawa chuckled, "they all have minds of their own." I drew a lollipop on the gate.

"Just stick figures really," I explained as I put the white sharpie away. "They're so crass because people draw them and forget about them." The stick figure returned, flipped us off again, took the lollipop and rushed off again. Ochako skipped towards us ahead of the rest of the class. I pulled myself away from Aizawa and the stick man.

"I can't wait to see your quirk! I'm so excited." She beamed. Her costume was black and pink with large heeled boots and a helmet. I looked so plain compared to her futuristic vibe.

"Hey Hikaru," I turned to see a shorter green curly-haired boy beside me, "I don't know if you remember me, but we used to play together a lot when we were kids before you moved." I stared at his wide eyes and freckled face.

"Izuku," I asked after a moment. "No way – you did get a quirk after all. I bet it's super cool." He shook his head while he rubbed his thumbs together. He was still meek, quiet Izuku. I smiled at him as I punched his shoulder lightly.

"Man, it would be awesome if he could use it without hurting himself each time," the red-haired boy began to laugh as he walked up to us. "Name's Kirishima. I harden." He lifted his arm and hardened his arm into one jagged stone.

I lowered my gaze at him, "still got a problem with my pants?" His face blushed as he became flustered and started to try and defend himself.

"Everyone line up according to student number, the bus is here!" A clean-cut classmate with glasses and stiff movements shouted from beside Aizawa. I crossed my arms as everyone followed his orders. I was going to show him a thing or two about my arrows when I had a chance. He turned to face me, the hard look on my face boring into his. "My apologies for earlier, I am trying to get out of the ways of my last school. U.A. has many more freedoms. My name's Tenya Iida, it is lovely to meet you." He dipped down and bowed deeply at the waist.

I uncrossed my arms and set them on my hips above my belt. "Uh, yeah. Nice to meet you." He nodded before rushing onto the bus. I entered before Aizawa, taking a seat on the backbench all to myself. Most of the class had taken the seats in the front that faced one another. They were already all so close and I was the strange newcomer interrupting it all. I watched from the back as they all interacted, laughed with one another, and Katsuki was picked on for his poor attitude. That was refreshing.

"You don't have a musical quirk?" I turned to face a girl in a leather jacket with earphone jacks on her earlobes. She could probably listen through walls. Cool.

"No, mine is artsier – like my Dad's." I smiled at her and took out a sharpie.

"No drawing on the bus Nakamura," Aizawa said from the front of the bus. I sighed and put it away.

"Guess you'll have to wait." I shrugged as she turned back, a smirk on her lips.

* * *

"You're writing another letter to Katsuki," my mother cooed as she watched me draw a cartoon balloon with a smiling face and bright blushing cheeks.

"Uh-huh!" I smiled, kicking my tiny legs at the kitchen table. The balloon floated at the bottom of the page, avoiding the words that I had written at the top in my poor five-year-old hand.

"Did you get a letter from him today?" She looked at my father, the question was more for him anyway. He shook his head with a frown. "You're already sending another one before he's replied?"

"We just started kindergarten last week, I want Katsuki to be happy and feel I'm there," I shouted, lifting my arms high. I lowered my arms and worked with a red crayon to colour the balloon's cheeks. I handed my letter to my mom to fold for the envelope and to properly address it. I bounced in my seat; the hem of my cherry red dress flared up showing more of my white leggings. My mother smiled and ruffled my hair before folding the letter.

* * *

I followed the class off the bus and into a large domed building. I nervously tapped my fingers against my hip in chord progressions. Everyone already knows what each other's quirk was. I was the strange one coming in three weeks late to try and fit in. I lifted my chin higher as we entered the building. Thirteen stood at the end of the entranceway before the stairs.

"Welcome to the Unforeseen Simulation Joint!" Thirteen greeted us with wide arms. I looked past them, there were at least ten different types of locations for us to practice in.

"Where's All Might," Aizawa asked as he approached Thirteen. The two spoke for a moment. "That man is the height of irresponsibility." He sighed and faced the class, "we should start." I frowned. I had been looking forward to having an actual class with All Might, but he was probably performing a real rescue right now.

Thirteen began to stammer, trying to count on their fingers, "Let me say one thing, or two, or three – wait – maybe four or five. Listen carefully, many of you know that I have the quirk black hole. I can use it to suck up anything and turn it into dust. My quirk could also very easily be used to kill. Some of you also have dangerous powers. Please don't forget that if you lose focus or make the wrong move your powers can get deadly. Even if you're trying to do something virtuous. Today, you're going to use your quirks to save people's lives. You won't be using your quirks to fight enemies or each other, only to help. After all – that's what being a hero is all about. Thank you for listening!" Thirteen took a bow. Aizawa took a step forward with a hand motion for us to follow. But, at that moment an electrical surge shook the building and all the lights went out. Was the training already commencing?

Aizawa stiffened, "stay together and don't move. Thirteen, protect the students." I was right at the front of the class, so I saw everything. A large black swirling portal had appeared below, and villains were streaming out. They sneered and laughed as they saw us. They were real – this was not a class anymore. The class began to chatter about animatronics like the entrance exam – these were not robots. "Stay back! This is real – those are villains."

"Aizawa, what are you going to do, there are too many of them," Izuku asked from the other side of the class.

"You can't be a pro if you only have one trick," Aizawa snapped his goggles into place and jumped down from the staircase, landing in the centre of the crowd of villains. I rushed past Thirteen, pulled out a sharpie, and fell to the ground hard on my knees. I quickly began to sketch a three-dimensional image of a mouse on the stone floor. I dropped the sharpie and put my hands down just below the image. I focused on the small mouse I had drawn. It floated upward out of the stone floor, spun around and looked at me with a big wave. It then turned towards the staircase and began to replicate into two, then four, eight, sixteen – until there were hundreds of mice. I could only competently replicate through doubles; I had been working on making triplets, but one always came out messed up. I watched as they streamed out of the spot in front of me and rushed down around the villains. Many of them freaking out as the mice distracted them enough for Aizawa to take them out with ease.

"What do you think you're doing, idiot!" My arm was grabbed, and I was hauled back, my trove of mice stopping and becoming lost before sinking away into a pool of ink. Damn it, I had lost my concentration. I whipped my head around to see Katsuki dragging me away.

"Trying to help unlike you," I spat, trying to tear my arm away. He pulled me ahead of him, causing me to lose my balance and work to regain it as he pulled me along harshly. We were almost out the door when a large billowing shadow popped up between us. When had he gotten so rough?

"There is no escape for you. We are the league of villains. I know it's impolite, but we decided to invite ourselves in to say hello. After all, is this not a fitting place for All Might to take his final breath?" Kirishima and Katsuki leapt at the villain but their attack did nothing. He was mostly mist. I reached for two spray paint cans on my waist. "You may live up to your school's reputation, but someone might get hurt. You will meet my comrades – and your death!" We were covered by his shadow-like mist. I felt the ground beneath my feet disappear and then reappear in a second. I stood in an abandoned and weakened building with villains surrounding me. I looked out of my periphery, Katsuki and Kirishima were with me.

One of the villains smiled, "they have a celebrity in their class. I wonder how much we could get for her." I was about to lift my arms, ready to fight with my arrows but Katsuki shoved me behind him.

"She's not worth anything, die!" He leapt towards them, explosions going off. Damn it Katsuki, what's the big deal? I felt someone grab my shoulder. I pivoted towards them and threw my fist in their face, my arrow coming up from my skin enough to slice open the bridge of their nose. The villain's eyes rolled back in his head as he fell to the ground in a heap. I felt someone behind me, I threw my foot back, but they caught it. My arrow on that foot came up, wrapped around their hand, then their forearm. The arrow pulled this villain forward and I landed the same punch to his face before he fell unconscious.

"Wow Nakamura – you sure can fight!" Kirishima smiled as he punched the last villain with a hardened first. We were surrounded by a pile of unconscious villains. I flipped my hair over my shoulder and ran a hand through my bangs. I watched the wall shifting awkwardly as if a glass was placed in front of it. I threw my right fist forward, my arrow shooting out from my knuckles and embedded in the centre of the strange mass. The chameleon quirked villain lost its camouflage and landed on the ground with a yelp, my arrow embedded in his back. I pulled my arrow out and Katsuki landed a few explosions to the creep. "Damn you two have fast reflexes."

"Don't compare me with Katsuki," I cringed while he glared at me. "Let's head back to the stairs and help Aizawa."

Katsuki glowered, marching over to me. "Stay here with Kirishima," He glared down at me, chest puffed out, "and you make sure she doesn't get hurt." He rushed out of the building and towards the main entrance.

I turned and glared at Kirishima, "don't try to stop me." I pulled out two spray paint cans and headed for the door.

"Wait," Kirishima said staring after the direction he ran. "How do you know Bakugo? He never introduced himself to you."

I flipped my ponytail over my shoulder, "we used to know each other. Peace." I rushed off after him.

"Wait," Kirishima yelled after me, I ignored him and jumped down the stairs, spraying a skateboard quickly in front of me. I jumped up and landed on it, finishing the last flight of stairs and speed down and across the main walkway. I scanned the domed area as I skated along. Katsuki ran neck in neck with a boy with red and white hair towards the stairs. Past them were the two villains, a blue-haired man with hands grasping his body and the one with the warping quirk. A large black creature with his brain exposed had gotten on top of Aizawa and proceeded to pound his face into the concrete. We were too late. I pumped my leg on the ground to make the board go faster.

A loud crashed sounded from the entrance. I stopped pumping and started towards the door; All Might stood at the top of the stairs with his large smile on his face. "It's all right, I am here!" In an instant, he had shot down the stairs, grabbed Aizawa, Izuku, and two other students and set them out of harm's way.

"Wait," Kirishima yelled out from behind me. I turned to see him running as quickly as he could. I blew him a kiss and kept gliding along. I had the least experience in the class, but I had to try and help. All Might was even having trouble fighting against the monster that had taken Aizawa down. All Might grabbed onto the waist of the monster and suplex him up and over his head, so he landed in a backbend. The villain with the warp quirk had opened two portals in the ground, the creature entered one and came out on the other, grabbing onto All Might's side and made him bleed. I pumped my legs harder. Katsuki turned his head and saw me. He glared and scoffed but kept running. Izuku rushed towards All Might.

Katsuki jumped onto the villain with the portal quirk, grabbing onto his armoured neck and set off some explosions, "Get the hell out of my way Deku!" The boy with the two-toned hair sent out a stream of ice that grasped onto the black, brain exposed creature. All Might was able to use his weakened limbs to escape. I came to a stop behind them, snapping the tail of the skateboard so it flew upward, and I grabbed it, running the rest of the way to them. Kirishima quickly caught up to me. We looked at each other and rushed towards the blue-haired man since he was the only one not being targeted. He dodged Kirishima's punch with ease but jumped right into my line of fire. I smacked him across the back of his head. He grabbed the back of his head with a hand and swatted me with the back of another hand. Izuku called out for me. All Might was trying to punch the monster, who had regenerated his limbs, with a hoard of rapid blows. My tall and thin frame went flying across the cement. I landed in something wet. I pulled myself up, my arms and front were covered in something black. It was my ink. I shoved my hands back into the pool of ink. The monster aimed for Katsuki and rushed to him. In a split second All Might rushed into the line of fire and got Katsuki to safety. I turned the pool of ink into small stickmen, the army running off to help fight. They crawled up the blue-haired man and his comrade. They swatted away at the stickmen. The ones that they successfully swatted off flew a short distance away and splashed into a puddle of ink before reforming and rushing back in. All Might landed a solid blow to the creature and sent him flying up and out of the top of the Unforeseen Simulation Joint.

I sighed, the problematic one was gone. I felt a gate open below me. I did not have time to react as I was pulled to wear the blue-haired villain and portal user stood. I felt three fingers on the top of my head, "still want to fight?"

Izuku called out for me and jumped towards us. His legs and arm glowed bright sparkling gold. The warp user opened a gate, the blue-haired man's hand aimed for Izuku. His quirk had to do with his hands, and he had three fingers on me. It probably only worked with all his fingers. I ducked down and elbowed his gut, somersaulting away from him. I slid away on my hip in my ink puddle. A loud bang rang out through the arena. I sighed, seeing blood pooling from the hand that the blue-haired man had pulled back through the portal. Izuku landed a few feet away from me. He had broken his legs and his arm. I turned my head to the entrance – all the teachers were lined up at the top of the stairs. I let out a slow breath of air, we were going to be fine. I watched in dumbstruck awe as each pro-hero activated their quirk and took out the remaining villains around the arena. The two villains left through a warp gate. It was all over.

I stood up, watching as Katsuki stalked over to me, "what the fuck were you thinking?"

I raised my brows at him, "helping – effectively, unlike you."

"You were being an idiot and diving in when you weren't needed," Katsuki yelled at me, grabbing my arm and pulled me away. "And you – why didn't you keep her out of this?" He gave Kirishima the finger as he ran over to us.

"Don't touch me," I shot back, pulling my arm out of his grip. I stalked past him and hurried up the stairs, leaving a trail of black footprints behind me.

"That was amazing Hikaru," Uraraka smiled, pumping her fist as I neared the rest of the class. She reached her hand up to give me a high five.

"Thankfully almost everyone is alright," I hit her hand as I neared her. I felt a rush of nausea rush over me. My head began to pound, and I turned clammy. The corners of my vision began to turn black.

"Whoa, are you okay?" Uraraka stood in front of me, her brows creased. "You look a little green."

"Y-yeah," I said holding up a hand, "just fine."

Then I hit the ground.


	3. Dinner

"Hikaru Nakamura is safe," my manager said into the microphone on the news. He was flanked by others from our agency. "It was an unfortunate attack on All Might – Nakamura was not the intended target nor was she injured during the altercation." I rolled my eyes, flicking the television off. There was no mention of the attack being an attempt to kill All Might. There was no mention of Aizawa or Thirteen. There was no mention of Izuku getting injured. The world did not revolve around celebrities. I tossed my pillow onto the ground and slumped over the arm of the chair. People only care about celebrities and money nowadays – that took up most of the news and ad space. I groaned, letting my head flop down. My head was still throbbing from overusing my quirk yesterday and this media mess was making it worse.

"Karu?" My mom called from the front door.

"I'm home," I called back, flipping through the channels. All had the same story, "can we cancel our cable?"

My mother came into the living room, opening the wall safe behind a family photo and unloaded her gun before placing it inside. "Why would you want to do that?"

"All the channels are reporting about what happened yesterday. There's no mention of who got hurt or what actually happened," I frowned, turning the television off.

My mom sighed and sat down on the other arm as she took her reinforced gloves and gear off. "You know, it might just be a good thing that you were there. That gives something else for the public to fixate on rather than a mass villain attack and the harm that was done. You might feel bad because none of your classmates or teachers got the recognition they deserved, but that's what hero work is like. Do you think I ever get upset when the hero brings the killer in? No. I know I did my job to help catch him." She reached for my bookbag and pulled out a pencil, "let's see how school's going."

The stiff pencil started to wobble, a pair of arms popped out from the side and a large mouth appeared in the middle, "Hikaru's made some new friends. She spends too much time doodling Mr Stickman and giving him treats. Her grades are good, and she studies effectively. She threw me at Katsuki Bakugo, and he tried to explode me." The arms folded back into the pencil and the mouth disappeared as life left it.

My mom slipped the pencil back into my bag and gave me an odd look. "Katsuki's in your class? The little boy we used to live beside that you played with every day?"

I pouted, "yep. He's still a jerk."

My mom pursed her lips together, "maybe we should invite them over for dinner."

I sat up abruptly, "no."

My mom gave me a judgmental look, "and just why not? You two were connected at the hips when you were younger."

I puffed out my cheeks and crossed my arms, sinking into the back of the chair. She stood up and pulled out her cell phone, scrolling through things until she held it to her ear. She tapped her foot impatiently as she unbuttoned her uniform top. "Hello Mitsuki, yes it has been a long time. Were you aware that our kids are in the same class at U.A.? Oh, you weren't. Yes – it is nice to be so close again! How would you like to come over for dinner tomorrow? Perfect, see you around six? Bye."

I glared at my mother, "that's low." She smiled and began to hum while she walked away.

"Suck it up," my Mom called back. I reached over to the coffee table and took a Tylenol out of the bottle. I washed it back with a sip of water. I lounged in the chair, placing the icepack back onto my forehead. "Oh, how's the head feeling?"

"Like someone took a jackhammer to it," I called back. I frowned, curling into the back of the chair, my head resting on the arm. I had never used my quirk that much before – I never knew that I had a limit or an adverse reaction to using it. My mother could bring things to life for ten seconds and as far as I was aware, she could do it as many times in a day as she wanted. My father could perfectly duplicate anything down to the smallest detail. Any art forger would love to have his quirk, but instead, he worked at Nagoya University as an Art Professor and moonlighted as a restorationist when needed by galleries all over the world. He was limited to six hours of use a day until he was zapped of energy.

"It was probably that super cool move that you used," my mom came down the stairs.

I frowned as she turned off the lights and closed the blinds, "maybe. I never replicated that many drawings before either." I closed my eyes. I felt my phone vibrating in the back pocket of my jeans. I answered it without opening my eyes, "hello?"

"Karu! Are you okay? I just saw what happened on the news," Samira yelled into the phone.

Ow. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just overused my quirk during the ordeal." I smiled. Samira was the sweetest and always went out of her way to look after all of us.

She let out a sigh of relief, "that's good to hear. They didn't mention if anyone had been hurt so I assumed the worst."

I frowned, remembering Aizawa getting his face pounded into the cement, "three of our teachers and one of my classmates were injured – but with the ratio of villains to us being heavy in their favour I'm glad there weren't more."

Someone called for Samira on the other end, "sorry – class is about to start up again. I'll see you next week!" She hung up before I could question why. We had no commitments pre-booked for next week.

* * *

Aw shit. Paparazzi were crowded at the entrance to the school.

"Nakamura!"

"Why did you decide to attend U.A.?"

"What is your quirk?"

"Why are you wearing pants?"

"Are you the reason for the hiatus?"

"Were you the target of the USJ attack?"

"Why do you want to be a hero?"

"Is this the end of Strike?"

I kept my face down and pulled my hood closer to my face. I felt a strong hand grab me and force the crowd apart. They pulled me through and kept their grip of my shoulder until we were inside the building. I went to thank them, pulling my hood and sunglasses off.

"You should find a better disguise than that," Katsuki scoffed, looking up at the ceiling.

I glared at him, "you try something better."

His jaw tightened up as he glared back at me, "what did you say?"

I rolled my eyes and took off my black vans, "thanks – but fuck off." He became even more furious. I shoved my shoe cubby door open in his face, changed my shoes quickly before he slammed the door shut. I flipped my hair into his face and kept walking into the school. He was fuming. I made my way quickly up to the classroom, hoping to dodge his annoyance. I sighed, rushing up the stairs, I knew that everyone would find out where I went to school eventually – but I was hoping for at least a few more days. Damn villains already blowing it. I entered our classroom and plopped myself down onto my chair. Most of the class was already there chatting away with one another, most wondering which teacher we would have sub in for Aizawa.

"Wow, how did you get past all of those media hounds?" Kirishima spoke from behind me. I took off my hat and hung it on the side of my desk. I had straightened my hair this morning, so it fell in a blue waterfall.

I turned around, resting my elbow on the back of the chair and my chin on my open palm. "They're not that smart. Just put their damn nose into everything."

Izuku slunk out of his desk and walked over to us, "how are you feeling Hikaru?"

I perked up at the question – I wasn't used to it. "Still a little throbby but not as bad."

He smiled, "that's good. I didn't recall you having any adverse effects on your quirk when we were kids."

"Yeah," I nodded, "didn't know about it either. But – it's good to know what my limit is now."

"Deku! Don't talk to her," Katsuki's voice roared from the door to the classroom.

I turned and stuck my tongue out at him, "I can talk to whoever I want, like, I don't want to talk to you or see your face." He stalked towards me, palms up as small explosions went off on his palms.

"Settle down," Aizawa's voice came from a similarly long-haired man wrapped in bandages with two splinted arms crossed over his chest. Everyone rushed to their desks after staring for a moment.

"What are you doing here already?" My pink-skinned classmate gawked.

"Teacher, shouldn't you be resting," Uraraka asked, folding her hands together.

Aizawa stopped at his podium, staring out over us, "there's no time for resting, the sports festival starts in two days." I smiled; I could show everyone that I was more than just a guitarist. "Those that fair well in the festival may receive offers from pro-heroes for after you graduate. Think of it as they're investing their interest in you and your growth. They can withdraw those offers at any time. After the sports festival, everyone will have a weeklong internship at an agency." He looked over the class once before turning to exit the class. "Nakamura," Aizawa called from the door, "come here." I stood from my desk, thumbs resting in the pockets of my pants. I left the classroom as Present Mic entered for English.

"Yes," I asked as I closed the door.

"Your manager has requested that you not take part in the sports festival. He's booked a short intermission show with Strike during the festival and is concerned that you may be injured if you partake," Aizawa explained, his just barely unbandaged eyes watching me carefully.

I frowned, "there's always next year."

He nodded, "you're making this easier than I expected. This is your first of three chances to wow pro-heroes for a job after graduation."

I tilted my head to the side and looked up at him. "I'm used to Strike taking other opportunities away from me. I almost lost the chance to even enrol here after all. Go rest." I turned and re-entered the classroom, sitting down in my seat silently and crossed my arms as Present Mic asked for people to correct the English grammar of sentences.

Today was going to be fucking fantastic.

I stood in the kitchen with my mom, chopping up the meat and tofu as she worked her magic on the stove and grill. The Bakugo's would be here within twenty minutes. I set the cutting board beside the stove and washed my hands.

"I can't believe they even had the nerve to book you for an event they knew you would have been competing in," my mother glowered, "and while you all were on hiatus! Do they not know what that word means? That guy is going to get an earful from me tomorrow." She forcefully threw the beef into the beef stew, soup base splashing out. I cracked a dozen eggs for her in a bowl and set it beside her for the rolled egg omelette. I knelt in front of the oven and opened it, pulling out my bread rolls. Even though I was horrible in the kitchen, bread was one thing I could make.

"I have two more chances as long as they don't do this every year," I said, putting my bread on the cooling rack.

My mom placed the gyoza from the pan aggressively onto a serving plate. I quickly took the plate from her hands and brought it to the dinner table with a bowl of pickled vegetables. "This better be the last time until you all graduate that they book you!" We always had every seat at the table set regardless of how many people were joining us. Mom always invited people over last minute for a warm, over the top, dinner. I turned around, moving the completed dishes from the prep station to the table. Mom had gone over the top, as usual, with spinach salad, roasted cauliflower and kale salad, teriyaki tofu, my bread, rolled omelette, the gyoza and pickled vegetables, and the beef stew. An aggressive knock sounded on the door. "Can you get that dear?"

"Sure," I sighed, putting the last dish down. I left the open room and entered the hallway, stepping into the entranceway and opened the door. I was immediately tackled and brought into a hug.

"It's been forever and a day since we saw you in person!" Katsuki's mother, Mitsuki, swung me back and forth in her arms. "My! You and Katsuki are the same height." She let go, slipped off her shoes and rushed into the kitchen, immediately striking up a conversation with my mother.

"Sorry, she's excited to see you both again." Katsuki's father, Masaru, spoke as he took his own shoes off and pulled his irked son into our home. "We're all glad to have you back in town." Katsuki narrowed his eyes at me as he kicked his shoes off and followed his father inside.

"Did Ryo come down too?" Mitsuki stood in the kitchen with my mother as she put the lid on the beef stew and carried it to the table onto it's warmer.

"No," my mother shook her head, "he still has lectures at the university he has committed too. He might try to transfer here next year though – depending on if Strike doesn't try to take Karu back early."

"Back early? I thought you were on hiatus," Mitsuki turned to face me now. I went to speak before my mother jumped in.

"Yeah – they're supposed to have a three-year hiatus of no additional work, but their manager goes and books a performance the day of the sports festival no doubt." My mother rolled her eyes. "I swear they're trying to milk every chance to keep these girls in everyone's minds."

"So, you're not participating in the sports festival," Masaru asked, Katsuki was intrigued. We all began to take our seat at the large table.

I shook my head, "they won't let me. Maybe I'll have a chance next year." Our parents deviated to work and what happened in Tokyo and Nagoya over the past eleven years. Sure, they had the occasional conversation here and there until Katsuki and I drifted too far.

"So," Mitsuki leaned over her bowl of stew, "what was your favourite place to play?"

"Uh," I said, taking a sip of my water to think. "I guess our cultural festival." My middle school was very focused on the arts. Everyone there either wants to excel in art, music, literature, dance, or theatre and worked their ass off to try and achieve it.

Mom swallowed her gyoza, "we enrolled you for your art and you ended up excelling in the music track." I shrugged, picking up a piece of pickled plum. "How is Katsuki doing in school."

Mitsuki sighed, flicking her son in the forehead, "top grades usually. Shitty attitude though."

"What the fuck are you talking about Mom?" Katsuki got into a yelling match with his mother, who promptly put him into a headlock. "Gah, let go of me!"

"You've been a jerk to Hikaru again, haven't you?" Mitsuki started to rub her first into the top of his head. I ignored the two and kept eating my dinner while my Mom laughed at the two. Masaru was unfazed by his wife and son's actions. Mitsuki and my mom kept telling stories and poking fun at Katsuki and me through the rest of dinner until everything was gone.

"Man did I miss your cooking," Katsuki said, stretching his arms above his head. I got up and began to clear the table, loading up the dishwasher as I went. He earned another punch to the back of the head. Damn did he get beat up by his Mom – and yet his attitude was still shit. Mitsuki took her plates and a few empty serving dishes and joined me in the kitchen. Mom had corralled Katsuki and Masaru to the other side of the living room.

"I'm glad you're back," Mitsuki smiled at me. "Hopefully you'll be able to knock Katsuki down a peg or two. As soon as he got his quirk his ego became super inflated from all that unneeded praise."

"That ego needs to burst," I scoffed, removing more dishes from the table.

She laughed, "exactly. Though, I suspect you'll be the one to bring him back down after it does. Pop!"


	4. Missed Chance

I sat with my bandmates in our dressing room on the opposite side of the arena from my classmates. Samira was searching through European and Japanese university brochures while humming our setlist. Miki laid upside down on the armchair with her bass on top of her, while Natsuki had her headphones on, eyes closed and worked her drumsticks along to the beat. I needed to get ahead to have more time to practice my quirk for combat. I was missing my chance today, damn manager.

"I don't get why they won't let you participate," Samira frowned as she highlighted her brochures.

I answered without looking up from my books, "they don't want me to get injured."

"Couldn't they just give you a pass to the last round or whatever," Miki asked.

I shook my head, turning the page to check the formula, "that'd be unfair."

A knock came from the door. I pulled myself from my textbooks and opened the door, it was Aizawa clad in bandages and All Might. "Oh, hi."

"How is warm-up going?" All Might roared as he passed me to enter the dressing room. Aizawa follows him in a few feet. I silently closed the door as All Might started conversing with Miki while Natsuki took out her earbuds.

"We're bored," Miki complained, stopping her string picking, "and mad that Karu can't kick her classmate's asses."

"Yes, it is a pity that this is the one-time Nakamura can make a mark on everyone watching as a first-year." All Might said, waving with a hand as he smiled. "You'll miss out on all that pro-hero interest everyone else will be getting."

Natsuki crossed her legs at the knee, "you're saying that our manager seriously fucked up. This is too important of an event for Karu to not participate."

"It's fine," I sighed, placing my hands onto my hips. "I'll have other chances."

"Stop being so complacent," Samira looked up from her brochures, glaring at me. "You need to learn how to put your foot down and stop getting walked all over."

"We'll let you have your time together," All Might said uneasily, dragging Aizawa behind him out the door. He shut it with a loud slam.

"It's too late to just jump in now," I said, motioning to the monitor that showed the calvary race that was just beginning.

"Then we need to think of a way to show everyone that you can use that quirk of yours to be a hero," Miki cut in. We were quiet for a moment. "What?"

* * *

Our instruments were set out on the ring for the final portion of the sports festival. The arena's cover was slowly being moved into place. I bit my lip, putting the finishing touches on my drawings with the glowing spray paint. Natsuki walked out into the darkness first, followed by Samira, Miki, and then me. Our lips each glowed with our colour. I had been branded blue, Miki yellow, Samira pink, and Natsuki were green thanks to our eye colours all being different. The crowd cheered as we took centre stage in complete darkness. All that they could see were our lips.

I lifted my electric guitar up and over my head. Samira stood to my right, covering the mic with her hand as she counted us in. I let my fingers strum the same bars over the string as Natsuki pulsed the bass drum along. Miki let her fingers walk over her strings.

Samira joined in as a spot opened on her, "you're feeling nervous having your doubts. Don't be embarrassed if you don't fit in the crowd. Keep standing tall and hold your ground. Show 'em it's not okay to let 'em kick you down." Miki and I began to support Samira with whistles and oohs. Samira's quirk was an echo, so she was her own backing vocals. "Don't let 'em ruin your time. It's now or never, never. Just let 'em know it's your life so do it, use it, flaunt it, own it." The lights came up on us as my drawings began to march out to the beat. My drawings were spray-painted renderings of us in our colours. They marched along the side of the ring in the darkness and began to mimic Samira's sexy dancing as she dang. I let my finger work get more complicated as we neared the chorus, allowing for more creativity. "Yeah, you better give it everything you got. Hey! Just show 'em you're a sexy lady. Yeah, you better work till it's burning hot. Hey! Just show 'em you're a sexy lady. Time is now baby, look around baby, just be proud you're a sexy lady. Rock it out baby, play it loud baby just be proud all my sexy ladies." I returned my strumming to the original three bars.

Miki took over the second verse for Samira, "so admit it, it's feeling good. Your hips are rolling, and you love it as you should. Work up a sweat enjoy the ride. Good girl go get it, wear your confidence tonight."

Samira had marched down the stairs of the ring and had joined my glowing drawings in their line, singing the chorus with them. Everyone went quiet after as Samira turned and marched back to us. My fingers flew over the frets as I had my solo, making sure to show up my fancy finger work.

"Yeah!" Samira took over as I hit my last high note. She broke into the chorus again, making sure to walk to all of us. "You're sexy." She struck a pose with her arm holding the mic tilted towards her face and the other hand on her hip. The arena cheered. We immediately followed into Gold. The spray-painted versions of us melted away into a pool of glowing paint. Samira spun on the spot, waving at the crowd when she finished the song. "Hello everyone! I'm Samira, my quirk is echo." The arena cheered as her voice reverberated throughout the stadium.

Miki strummed a few strings, "I'm Miki and my quirk is vibration." The arena cheered again.

Natsuki laid down a quick top hat, "I'm Natsuki and my quirk is siren!"

I strummed a quick sliding scale, "I'm Hikaru and my quirk is animate!"

"We have a song that we want to introduce you all too," Samira smiled as she picked up the small tambourine that sat beside her standing microphone. "This is Polaris, Hikaru take it away!"

My eyes widened at her. She wanted to perform a new song that I had taken months to write and compose at the sports festival and she didn't want to sing it? I mouthed 'are you sure' to her. She nodded with a smile. I swallowed before standing in front of the mic that had been set up on the grass below in my paint pool.

"On that day", I began to play the complicated rhythm, "I swore I would keep you safe. It's a promise I have made in my heart." Samira backed me up as everyone else joined in with the beat and my complex finger movements. I dropped my guitar and held onto the microphone as the others held the beat. "If I had to give my world to save a life, I would. I'd sacrifice everything and wouldn't even think twice."

I let go of the microphone and picked my guitar back up, my fingers easily sliding over the strings and frets in the complex patterns. The pool of paint began to shift into three-dimensional sound waves that moved in tune with the beat. "I'd offer it happily with a smile on my face. I don't think I've ever felt this way before – a reason to live. I have found that I don't need to hide these scars, all my faults, they are making me strong."

I sang stronger into the microphone, my playing and the drumbeat getting more aggressive. "They only give me reason to live on. So today, I will wipe away every single tear. And it's true, I would give up everything for you! So just please, promise me that you won't give up just yet on that day I swore I would keep you safe. It's a promise I have made in my heart. Everyday somebody makes a sacrifice, that's why we're able to continue on to fight and live our lives! From the fear of losing, I am no longer afraid – but that doesn't mean I've given up on all my dreams! I will stay. I won't run away and hide in the past. I will become the me that I'm striving to be. Even if that is nothing more than a hopeful wish. I hope I can reach you even just a little bit." I let my fingers fly faster up and down the neck of my guitar as we increased our tempo.

"If you're strong I believe." Miki sang as she kept the fast tempo.

"You protect those in need." Samira sang quickly.

"You don't rise above the weak," Natsuki sang.

"And the thing you should seek," Samira entered again.

"Isn't gold victory," Miki finished, shooting me a smirk.

"Maybe that's just me!" We all sang as Natsuki smashed away on the drums quickly.

"If I had to give my world to save a life – I would," I sang with Samira backing me as everyone stopped playing but I.

"But I'd never forget you," I slowed down, strumming lightly on the strings and let it hang for a moment. Everyone came back in at the fastest tempo. My fingers shot across the frets again, "so, today I will wipe away every single tear. And it's true I will give up everything for you. So just please, just promise me that you won't give up just yet. On that day I swore I would keep you safe. It's a promise I have made in my heart. Even if the fading light we hold is all we know." Everyone stopped playing but for six solid and quick drumbeats. "Let's go!" Everyone began to play quick and intricate notes on their instruments. "Let's go!" I ran my fingers over the frets as I strummed, letting the guitar rift ring last through the stadium. I stood with my left hand at my side, staring out at the crowd. Sure, I had composed some of the songs that we had sung before and they had been received well enough – but this was the first time I was singing. What was Samira trying to do? No one moved. You could hear a pin drop. Was it really that bad? Damn it. I had written that song after Mom had found an old video of Katsuki and I both pledging that we would go to UA together. I got the okay to take the entrance exam the next day.

"That was amazing," Present Mic howled over the speakers as everyone erupted in screams. "Pro-Hero's out there, Hikaru Nakamura is up for grabs!" I sighed in relief, rushing back up the stairs to the stage, pulling my cord along with my right hand.

Samira stuck her hand behind her back, bending down to put her tambourine down. She counted us in with her fingers. I started moving my fingers across my strings in long strums. Samira sang smoothly and rocked with the microphone. We let the final note hang in the air as Samira held the final note and let them all fade. We all waved farewell. I unplugged my guitar from the amp and walked off stage with the others as the crew dismantled the stage for Cementos to modify it. The arena's cover began to pull back to let the sunlight back in.

My head was throbbing as if someone took a jackhammer to it. I quickly handed my guitar off to Miki who was closest. "Guys – I'm going down."

"What, Karu?" Samira backed away. My vision started to go black. Yep, I was done. I fell face-first onto the concrete floor.

* * *

I sat at my desk, scowling at my notebook and held an icepack to my head. I had passed out backstage and missed the rest of the festival. Katsuki had somehow won the entire competition. I glared at my desk – I would compete next time and beat him. He needed his ego to be knocked down a peg or two.

Aizawa entered, all of his bandages had been removed. He must be feeling much better. I frowned, the image of that creature pounding his face into the floor swept through my mind. "We have a big class ahead of us – hero information. It's time to pick your hero identities. This is related to the pro-hero draft picks I mentioned before. Normally you don't have to worry about that until your second or third year, but your class is different. By extending offers to you now, they're investing in your future. These offers can be rescinded anytime before graduation. Now, here are the totals."

I watched as the names appeared on the board – Todoroki had beat Katsuki on recommendations, that was an upside. I watched as a few of my other classmates appeared until my name appeared on the bottom. I had one request. No way, I had not competed, but someone requested me.

"How come my songstress only got one?" Mineta yelled, jaw hitting his desk.

Aizawa ignored his comment, "despite all this – you'll all be interning with pros. It'll be beneficial to see how heroes work in the field, firsthand. These hero names will likely be temporary, but choose carefully-"

"Or you'll have hell to pay!" The door slammed open and Might strut into the classroom, stopping beside Aizawa, "These names could be your name for life. You better be careful, or you'll be stuck with something utterly indecent."

"She's right," Aizawa frowned. "Midnight will have final approval over your names. It's not my forte. A codename tells people exactly what you want to represent." He grabbed a yellow sleeping bag and laid on the floor in front of the blackboard. Midnight handed out whiteboards for each row. I quickly wrote down Anima – it was the name I had always thought of as my hero name since I was a kid. Life Hero: Anima.

I watched as my classmates went ahead of me. Some had good names like Froppy – but others had weird names like I Can't Stop Twinkling. I tapped my board, getting ready to get up. Koji quickly scuttled to the front and showed off his board. My heart fell as I read Koji's whiteboard. He had picked Anima. No. There was no way.

Midnight beamed, clapping her hands together, "Anima! That's perfect for you." Koji smiled and sat back down in his seat. I quickly erased my whiteboard so no one would see the same name. I sat there, staring at my board as the rest of my class went. "Nakamura, Iida, Bakugo – do you have a name yet?" I quickly scrawled my first name on the board and stood at the front.

"Hikaru." I shrugged, playing with my lip piercing.

Midnight's shoulder's fell and she looked at me with an unamused expression, "really? Just your name? You've thought of nothing else?"

"Just Hikaru." I said. Midnight sighed and waved me back to my seat. I dropped the board onto my desk and let myself fall with a flop into my seat. I needed a new name now. I had never thought of anything besides for Anima.

"Good – now that you all have a name, you'll be given your list of hero agencies. Please have your top three selections in by the end of day tomorrow." Aizawa yawned, handing out the lists. He stopped at my desk, handed me a single piece of paper. I read the agency over in my head a few times. Thousand Blades Hero Company. Why would such a closed-off hero want me?

* * *

I knocked on the door to my internship. It took a moment but a tall man with the lower half of his face hidden opened the door. He looked down at me, eyes narrowing. "Get changed." He opened the door wide enough for me to enter. The halls were dimmed and empty. "Change room is across from the target room."

I nodded, entering the change room. I quickly changed into my outfit, putting the case into one of the five lockers on the far wall. There were not many at this agency. The change room was small, just a set of lockers and a bench. I left the change room and met my pro-hero in the target room.

"You know me as Blade." The tall hero spoke, cracking his neck. "Yours?"

A chill ran down my spine, "I don't have one yet."

He clicked his tongue. "As someone in your position – you'll need to be quick to find one." Blade was a tall pro-hero, standing at least six-three. His short white hair had been styled to the back in sharp spikes. He wore large cargo pants that were littered with dozens of pockets and a tight black crop top that revealed a scarred abdomen.

I frowned, biting my lip, "is that why you requested me?"

He grunted. "Those tattoos. They weren't intended to just be for show – were they?"

I quickly put my hands out in front of me and flexed my hands, staring at the arrows. "No. I intended for them to be something I could use as a hero."

"I thought so." I saw the crease of a smile from under his mask. "Show me." Blade hit a button on the wall and a target popped down. I lifted my left hand, my arrow pulled itself up from my skin and rushed forward – embedding itself into the wood. Another popped up, I withdrew the arrow and aimed for the new target. "Stop."

The targets stopped coming. I withdrew my arrow back and turned to Blade. His arms were crossed again, and a finger tapped his chin.

"I picked you because of what you did at USJ. Can you duplicate your arrows like you did those mice?"

"I've never tried."

"Now's as good of a time as any."

I nodded. Blade hit the button again. I watched as multiple targets popped in and out. I lifted both of my hands up, my arrows slithering up and towards the targets. I imagined my arrows splitting in two, then two again, and again. I could not help but smile when I impaled twenty targets. I did. The targets kept coming, I used the extra arrows to attack the new targets while the ones I had previously used removed themselves from the wood.

"Good – you got ninety-two hits in thirty seconds," Blade said as all the targets retreated. My arrows retracted and resettled on my arms.

"How did you know of what I did at USJ?" I flexed my hands and faced him.

He smirked, "being a pro has its perks. The police asked me if I could ID any of the villains – you peaked my interested. Now – why are you still involved with that band? They'll only pull you down."

I rubbed the back of my neck. "They're my friends – it was their dream and I fit into that dream for the moment."

"What is your dream?"

My dream?

"It can't just be to be controlled by your manager, now – is it?"

"To be a hero."

"That's a boring dream."

"What?"

"What kind of hero do you want to be?"

What kind of hero did I want to be? I want to save people: to see the smile on their face, to stop their tears, to raise them up when they're down. I stared at my paint-splattered converse laden feet.

"Is your path linear?"

"No. I want to help people be the best that they can be."

"Then why be a hero if you can do that with your music?"

I balled my hands into fists, "because I made a promise that I would never let anyone shed another tear." Blade hit the button on the wall again and stood beside me as the targets began to move. His hands went into the pockets in his cargo pants. I could not blink, or I would miss every movement. He was able to quickly and effectively hit every single target dead centre quickly. The thirty seconds were up.

"Four hundred and ninety-nine. You'll get there, kid. First, you need to find a name that represents who you want to be and where you aim to stand." Blade ruffled my hair. Okay, maybe this man was not the stone-cold hero the media portrayed him as – when he was mentioned that is.

The door slammed open. A girl in a golden suit with short-cropped blonde hair strut into the training room, "Blade! There's been a kidnapping. Wait, is that our intern?" She looked me top to bottom with a sneer on her face. "She looks like a failed art project."

"Lumen – be nice," a tall and burly man in a cobalt blue suit entered through the open door. I recognized him, that was Stretch. He tended to be the one to handle any media for the agency.

She scoffed, crossing her arms tightly over her flat chest. "I thought we were getting a hero in training – not a band-reject."

I let my hands rest on my hips, my finger tapping along my hips hidden under my flared shorts. "Want to say that again?

Lumen laughed, "you don't even have a name yet – do you?" She crossed her arms over her golden suit. I wanted to aim straight for a spot as a hero. Nothing was going to stand in my way.

I cocked my head. "Arrow."

"Take Arrow on the mission. Use your abilities as you need, you have my permission." Blade began to scroll through his phone, "seems like an easy mission to start with. You're in charge of her Lumen – don't leave Arrow alone just yet."

She rolled her eyes and started for the door, "coming loser?" I narrowed my eyes at the back of her head and reluctantly followed her. I was excited to help on my first mission – but boy did she have something against me.

"Lumen – she's just a kid. Give her a break." Stretch pleaded as we left the agency.

She huffed, "if she wants to be hero then missy here will see just how hard it is to be one."

Stretch went to speak, but I lifted my hand to stop him. "Do your worst. There is nothing that can make me turn my back on being a hero." Lumen lowered her eyes at me before breaking out in a sprint. Stretch and I followed her out of the outskirts of the ward and to a warehouse district. We stopped at a large warehouse with a propeller logo spray-painted in red on the large hanger door. Police were situated outside waiting for us.

Stretch elongated his legs and peeked into one of the windows before returning to his natural stance. "There are eight villains inside with two hostages."

Lumen nodded, "I'll make it go dark – Stretch can subdue the villains. You, just don't get in the way." Lumen rolled her eyes as she touched the side of the building. All the lights within went out in an instant. Right – Lumen could control how much light, or lack thereof, was in an area. "You better get ready wanna-be, they're heading right for us." I rolled my eyes and stood in front of the doors to the warehouse. "Stretch has the hostage."

"Good." I smiled, lifting my arms. I just had to do what Blade had taught me. The doors burst open and eight villains clad in matching black uniforms hurried out. I let my arrows dart out, multiply, and wrap around each of the villains. I lifted them a few feet into the air, my muscles strained to keep them upright.

"See – told you the kid could do it," Blade appeared from behind me, placing a hand on my shoulder. I smiled and turned around, depositing the villains in front of the police. I ensure that each was restrained before letting my arrows retract. "Now, what else can we train into you, Arrow?"


	5. Exams

Damn it; I was running late again. I rushed up the empty stairs of UA and down the deserted halls. I came to an abrupt stop in front of my classroom. My case held tightly in my hands. I slowly opened the door and slunk inside.

"You're late." Aizawa said from directly behind me.

I turned quickly and bowed at the waist, "our managers scheduled a last-minute shoot for this morning. I ran here as soon as it was over."

Aizawa grunted, "sit down – keep the case." I nodded and rushed to my seat in front of Kirishima. I set my bag and the case down beside my desk. I quickly unzipped the hoodie the costume department had given me to keep me warm, shrugged it off, and took my baseball cap off.

"Wow! My songstress looks heavenly with long hair." Mineta cooed from the corner. I moved the blue extensions out of the way and took out my notebook.

The door flew open. "I am here," All Might held onto the doorframe and gave the class his signature toothy grin that never seemed to fade. "Why, young Nakamura – trying out a new look?"

I frowned, crossing my legs at the knee. "I didn't have time to get myself out of this – okay?" Our record label wanted to capitalize on the new song that we performed at the sports festival and had gotten us into the studio to record it the day before our internships began. Unfortunately, they also felt the need to film a music video as well. They had wanted some shots of us on a skyscraper as the sun rose so we had to be on set for hair and makeup at four in the morning to get that shot. I had been given a full face of makeup that made me look of age along with hair extensions down to my knees. Our last scene was where we were all laying in water, so most of my hair had yet to dry. "Can we get back to class?"

"R-right! Get changed into your costumes and meet me at Field Gamma," All Might yelled before leaving. I picked up my case and moved ahead of the class to the change rooms. I quickly took off my Frankenstein uniform and changed into my hero outfit. The rest of the class had entered.

"I thought you were supposed to be on hiatus – why are you guys putting out something new," Jiro asked, putting her case down beside mine.

I let out a sigh, "they wanted to capitalize on the popularity of the new song we sang." I moved to the sink and wet a paper towel down. I began to remove the makeup on my face and body. "Hopefully that's all they'll need for the next while."

"Hey, Nakamura – how did you get those bruises?" Ashido pointed to the now makeup-free bruises on my knee and arms.

I let out a small laugh and pointed to my knee, "I got this from slamming a villain into my knee. The others are from Blade's training."

Ochako looked at me with stars in her eyes, "you got to fight a villain?" Well – more than one.

"Uh, yeah," I raised a brow as I finished removing the makeup, "didn't you guys get to too?"

Jiro shook her head, "we got to help assist our heroes, but we never got to fight. Midoriya, Todoroki, and Iida got to help fight Stain after they were ambushed on patrol." Right – Lumen had shown me the video that was circulating on the underground forums.

I reached into my hair and undid the clip in extensions, folding them gently to – potentially – reuse them. I brushed my hair roughly with my fingers before tying it up in a high pony-tail. My hair had been pin-straight this morning, but with the water, we laid in for the single cover art, the ends were splaying out. I attached the utility belt at an angle on my waist before leaving with the others to Field Gamma.

"My songstress is injured! Who must I take out swift and just revenge on?" Mineta yelled, holding his fist in the air while crying. We stopped away from the boys; none of us looked entertained with him. I crossed my arms over my chest and ignored him, focusing on All Might. I saw Katsuki eyeing my legs and stomach where I was bruised the most.

"Hope you're ready to return to our lessons. Today is basic hero training. It feels like I haven't seen you in a while. Now listen carefully for what's in store. We're going to have a little race. Take everything that you've learned from your internships and apply it to this rescue training!" All Might grinned. "You're about to step into Field Gamma. Inside is an area full of factories that form a labyrinth. You'll be competing in groups of five – or six. You'll each start at different points on the outskirts of the city. You will each do what you must in order to rescue me once I send out a distress signal. Whoever finds me first – wins! But, try to keep the property damage to a minimum please." All Might pointed right at Bakugo who sneered and averted his gaze. I rolled my eyes and stepped up for the first group. It was myself, Midoriya, Ojiro, Ashido and Sero.

Izuku walked beside me to our starting points, "are you sure you want to be in the same group? Everyone here is highly mobile."

I smiled down at Izuku and ruffled his hair. "I have a few tricks up my sleeve." I took my spot, and he nodded hesitantly before walking to his own. It was a few moments more before the signal was given. I lifted my arms, and my arrows shot out, multiplying. My arrows elongated and shortened to pull me along and up through the city. Thank you Blade for showing me just how useful these arrows are. I flew, arrow after arrow pulling and pushing me towards All Might. I saw Sero homing in on All Might from the other side. I did not have to be first – but I needed to finish with this move.

"We have a tie!" All Might roared as we both landed beside him. I let my arrows retract back into my skin and stretched my arms up. My arms and shoulders were not used to supporting my weight and propelling it. I would need to stretch out with a roller tonight.

"Since when could you do that?" Sero gawked, staring at my tattoos as his tape retracted.

I smiled, sticking my hands in my pockets, "they were never just for show."

Sero scratched his temple as we waited for the others to finish, "man – your quirk is super versatile, isn't it? Like Yaoyorozu's." Iida and Ojiro joined us.

"Uh, well," I shrugged my shoulder, "her quirk makes tangible objects. As long as I can draw it - I can use it." Ashido leapt over the barrier.

"Hikaru," Izuku groaned as he pulled himself onto the platform, "when did you get so fast?"

All Might let out a hearty laugh, "good try everyone! You all showed some incredible improvements since the start of the year. Keep preparing for your final exams. Group one leave the field, you're up group two!" Midoriya started to pull himself up. Ashido and Sero put their arms over my shoulders and walked forward with me, asking me all about my tattoos.

* * *

"Hey, Hikaru – how are you with English?" Uraraka poked her cheek and smiled. We had just finished the second day of our exams – tomorrow we would be writing our English exam and taking our practical exam.

I shrugged, "good. I guess."

"Haven't you interviewed in English before," Yaoyorozu asked. I began to gather my books together.

"Well, yes," I started.

"Can we study together?" Uraraka looked up at me with a pout, "English is my worst!"

"Sure – I have free time today if you want," I smiled. "My Mom won't be home until later tonight, so you're more than welcome to come over."

Jiro looked over at us from her desk, "how about we all study together – we haven't gotten to hang out with you much." Yaoyorozu agreed

"Uh – sure, if you don't mind," I gave them a crooked smile. They were right; after all, I came weeks late to school, I usually arrived late to class, and left early for work or to write tests that I had missed or would be missing. I was already well ahead on the curriculum too. I pulled on the dark hoodie that I wore to hide the uniform.

Uraraka pulled her backpack onto her shoulders, "we'll all get to go to the summer camp together!" She paused and looked at me, hesitantly, "right?" I smiled and gave her a nod. Aizawa had given my manager the dates for the summer camp when they had their meeting on the conditions for my attendance. Uraraka pumped her fists as we exited the class for our shoe cubbies. I quickly switched my shoes, pulled my hair into a twisted bun and shoved it under my hat, pulling a hoodie on to cover my uniform. We walked out of the school and turned down the road – away from the central train station.

"Why aren't we going to the station," Yaoyorozu asked. She had stopped in her tracks and pointed towards the more populated route.

"That's where any looky-lous will be." I frowned, "hardly anyone gets on at Taisen."

Jiro sighed, "are they seriously not leaving you all alone? You're teenagers – not A-list Hollywood celebrities with nothing to do."

"I'm all for hot gossip – but is that not a massive invasion of your privacy," Yaoyorozu asked.

I sighed, holding onto the brim of my baseball cap, "unfortunately they don't think of it that way."

Uraraka looked mortified for a moment as we stopped outside of the train station, "has your family been affected by the paparazzi?"

I let out a laugh, walking up the steps to the station before turning to face them. "Thankfully, they're scared of my mom." The trio froze, sharing an apprehensive glance. "She's a homicide investigator, practically lives in her uniform." The girls heaved a sigh of relief, starting up the stairs to meet me. I turned and entered the dead station with them.

"There you are," Jiro pointed across the platform to an ad. I frowned. Five boards had been rented out for the song; each of us had our own with the information on another in the centre. I was on the far left. We had laid down in a shallow pool of water in stylized black kimonos with our instruments. My legs were curled up behind me, my baby blue and pearl guitar hung loosely in my hands over my waist. The kimono had two long sleeves and a graduated skirt that started short in the front and elongated in the back. My hair was long with those extensions, down to my knees, and curled around me. We all stared blankly at the camera.

"They just took those a few days ago – how the hell did they get them up so fast," I glowered, the train quickly pulled into the station. "Wait a second." I stared at my poster – something was off.

"Hey – they took out your tattoos," Uraraka said while I was searching. She was right. They had digitally edited my arms and legs to get rid of my tattoos. The train screeched to a halt in front of us, so the others did not hear my vulgar language. I hurried into the car with the others. They were the ones who dyed my hair and pierced my face – and the one thing I had done to myself they wanted nothing to do with? Bull shit.

They even had the 'official video release' set for next week – the first day of the boot camp. If the label had planned some sort of media release or talk show like in the past, they had not run it by me. I was not missing the class boot camp under any circumstance. I pouted, ignoring their conversation until we got off at the station near my home. Our faces were plastered there too. We walked down the road for a few minutes until we stood outside of a larger white house with black panelling, a black garage door, and black brickwork for the chimney. My Mom had splurged on a second home for my schooling.

"This is your home?" Uraraka gasped, jogging up the drive, "it's so modern."

"Yeah." I walked past her and opened the door, kicking off my shoes haphazardly. I took off my cap and hoodie, hanging them up on a coatrack before entering the open living space. I dropped my bag in a seat at the large dining table and began to slowly take the prearranged dinner set up away from one end.

"Wow, you have so many awards," Jiro mused as she examined the walls.

"My Mom likes to put everything up." I sighed, taking out a pitcher of lemonade that Mom had made yesterday.

Uraraka beamed, looking at a photo of me in grade three playing the ukulele. "You're so cute!"

I placed the pitcher in the middle of the cleared area, opened my bag and began to unload my textbooks. "Ready to study?" Everyone smiled, gravitating to the table. I turned my phone on silent and put it screen down on the table as we began.

* * *

I heard the tires of Mom's cruiser pull into our drive. "She's home early," I said as I looked at the time on my cellphone. I already had a flood of emails from work since we began to study – including the private band chat that we kept. I opened the conversation to see the file for the music video.

My Mom opened the door, donning her full uniform, "how've the exams been going." She froze in the doorway, in the middle of taking the bullets out of her gun. "You have friends over? Karu – this is fantastic! Call me, Tori, do you want to stay for dinner? I do insist; I'll drive you all home first-class after." She let out a laugh before putting her gun away in it's safe.

"She really likes cooking for anyone," I said scrolling through my bandmate's comments on the video.

My Mom put her chin on the top of my head, "is that the music video? Let's watch it."

I sighed. "It's embarrassing." I looked over at my classmates; they looked at me with stars in their eyes. "Alright." I caved, screen sharing the video to our TV. It was embarrassing meeting new people, especially classmates, who had known of me as a member of Strike first and only knew what the media put out on me.

The video began with the camera panning across the water that rippled over a concrete floor before my dark plum pierced lips sang the first line. The image changed to one of an older building that was falling apart, a few inches of water covering the floor. Samira stood in my spot with her keyboard, while I took the centre with Miki flanking me. Natsuki was on our level and set a few feet behind us. Every time she hit the bass drum; the water splashed upwards. As the song continued, they switched between close-ups of my lips singing, the band playing in the water as we splashed about, and other scenes we had done. One had me hanging upside down on a truss reaching out, Miki drowning in a tub of water, Natsuki walking up a flight of stairs that were rotating around, or Samira running through a hall of mirrors. A masculine hand reached out and took hold of ours. Spliced in were shots of different body parts and instrument parts from when we were laying in the water for the publication shots.

The final 'let's go' that I sang switched the scene to the early morning shot of all of us playing in front of a sunrise on the top of a building before panning upwards on the final note. We had gotten up at three in the morning that day, for five seconds.

"That was amazing," Uraraka beamed. My Mom had already busied herself in the kitchen making dinner while she watched.

"Right," Mom squealed, "Karu always sings for us – but it's the first time everyone gets to see her sing." My classmates continued to chat with my Mom about the video. I had turned back to the group chat, scrolling through the displeased messages from the others.

Samira: I caught a cold for a ten-second shot RIP

Natsuki: Why are they editing out your tattoos Karu? What did you do to piss them off?

Miki: At least you didn't spend an hour in that tub – I won't be talking anytime soon.

I responded to Natsuki – the managers, were always displeased with my dream to be a hero, probably wanted nothing to do with that.

"Earth to Karu," Mom called. "If you're done studying, why don't you all hang out upstairs and relax. It's not every day; she gets to be a regular high school student. I'll come to grab you all when dinner's made." I sighed – defeated. I lead my classmates out of the living room and up the stairs to my bedroom.

"Sorry, my Mom's a little excited," I opened my bedroom door, letting the others walk inside first. "It's been just us and work for the past two years. We see the same faces over and over again." I left the door open and moved onto my bed. Sitting cross-legged beside my pillows. My feet slipped against the black satin bed sheets. Uraraka scampered to the centre of the bed, leaning against the wall my bed sat against. Jiro gravitated to my guitar that sat on a stand in the corner of my room beside my desk.

"How'd you even get into music anyway," Jiro asked, turning her attention to me.

Yaoyorozu gasped, "is your father musical?"

I shook my head, clasping my hands together and resting them on a knee. "My father's an art history professor. I guess it started when I was back in third grade when we had a recorder recital for our parents at the end of year ceremony – I couldn't make a sound with it, so they handed me the ukulele instead to try. It just turned into an occasional fun hobby.

"When I entered middle school. I got admitted to an art school that focused on drama, music, and art. I was put into the art portion – mornings for regular classes and afternoon for the creative ones. I wanted to explore music more, but since I wasn't on that track, I couldn't take any classes. So - I joined a rock and roll club, they needed a lead guitar, and the rest is history." I rubbed the back of my head, awkwardly.

"No wonder you guys seem so natural on stage," Uraraka pipped up, smiling. "You're all good friends from before." I smiled. I guess we were. People did always seem to enjoy our shows. Though the sports festival was very different than the others that we've played. When we were first signed, we had a lot more fun on stage. But, as time went on and the limitations and controls grew, we stopped having fun.

"So, what do your parents do?" I redirected the conversation away from myself. Much of my life was readily available with a single google search. I watched as others happily discussed their interests, families, and their school friends.

"Dinner's ready," Mom sang up the stairs. We all slipped off my bed and headed downstairs. It smelled amazing. The girls sat at the table while I helped bring over the last of the food. "It's one of our favourites from when the tour went through Italy. Butternut squash ravioli with a toasted walnut crumble with a mixed green salad, and for dessert, we have a toasted pumpkin cheesecake."

Uraraka stared at the dishes set in front of her, mouth agape. "You eat like this every night?"

"Only when we have guests – or she's happy," I smiled, pouring everyone glasses of Mom's all ages sangria made with half soda water and half sprite instead of wine.

"Oh stop," Mom cooed, waving her hand shyly in front of her face. She had changed out of her uniform into a plain white button-up and black slacks. "Do dig in before it gets cold." I smiled at everyone as I retreated to the kitchen to put the empty pitcher into the sink. It was nice having lively people over for dinner. The dinner with the Bakugo's was awkward. Our parents kept their friendship up as if they had never missed a beat after ten years apart. Katsuki and I were at each other's throat's half the time. It was awkward even when Mom would bring her co-workers over. Some were younger and showed too much interest in their superior's daughter, or they were older and kept discussing cold or exciting cases.

This was perfect.

* * *

"Remember – you can fail this practical." Aizawa reminded everyone. I swallowed hard, tapping gently on a spray can. All the teachers stood in front of us. "If you want to go camping, don't make any stupid mistakes."

"Why are all the teachers here," Jiro asked.

"I imagine some of you have gained some knowledge of what you think you may be fighting here today," Aizawa continued.

Kaminari pipped up, leaning back and made rock and roll signs with his hands, "we're fighting big old robots!" Ashido pumped her fist in the air.

Principle Nezu popped out of Aizawa's scarf, "this year's test will be different for various reasons. The tests now have a new focus, and there will be hero work, of course, but also teamwork and combat between actual people. So, what does that mean for you? You, students, will be working together in pairs and your opponents will be one of your esteemed UA teachers!" I let out a breath. That would mean one of us would be fighting alone or in a group of three. Just please do not pair me with Katsuki – we would fail instantly.

"Additionally, your partners and opponents have already been chosen. I've predetermined them based on fighting style, grades, and interpersonal relationships." Aizawa added as he went down the list. "We have Todoroki paired with Yaoyorozu against me. Next, we have Midoriya with Bakugo – and Nakamura, against –"

All Might jumped down from the top of the building, "I am here! You'll have to work together if you want to win." I looked over at the two. I could work with Izuku, more than likely, but Katsuki was the worst choice.

Nezu held up a pair of cuffs in his paw, "to complete the exam you have thirty minutes. You can win by handcuffing your teacher or if one of you can manage to escape from the combat stage." I tuned out the rest of the teacher's quips and stared at the ground. Izuku had strength enhancement, Katsuki had explosions, and I had animate. Both of their quirks could cause damage to All Might. I could create something to use as a distraction to give us a chance to flee as well.

I did have battle and villain experience now thanks to Blade, Lumen, and Stretch putting me on patrol with them and letting me participate. From what the others had told me a few days ago – that wasn't the case for most of the class.

"Hey Hikaru," Izuku stood in front of me. I let myself come out of my head. "I'm going to watch the other fights – would you like to join me?" That was a smart choice. I looked around quickly, Katsuki had stalked off to who knows where. Well, this would give Izuku and I the opportunity to examine how the other teachers were administering the exam, and we could make an idea for a plan.

"Sure," I nodded, walking beside him into the building. Recovery Girl was seated at a computer chair in front of a large motherboard and a large screen. Kirishima and Saito were up first against Cementos. They were caught in cement and were unable to get out. They failed in moments– along with Ashido and Kaminari.

I took out a black sharpie and began to draw a shield onto the palm of my hand before duplicating it to my other. With All Might's massive power – and Katsuki's shitty attitude - I would need a good defensive tactic.

Everyone else that had passed due to their excellent teamwork, especially Tokoyami and Tsu. I turned to Izuku who was busy watching Jiro's and Koda's match, "I'm going to head over – I'll see you there." He nodded, squeezing his fists together. I left the room that had slowly filled with those who were in decent condition after their exam and started down the path to our gate. Izuku had that new move that allowed him to speed up his movements and could run to freedom. Katsuki used his explosions as a propulsion system. I had my arrows which allowed me to climb and move quickly.

What else could I do to prepare? I looked down at my arms, legs, and bare mid-section. I had so much unused real estate I could use to prepare. I swallowed hard and looked ahead to the gate of our zone. Katsuki was already waiting to enter. His face was locked in a permanent scowl. I heard fast feet behind me. I turned to see Izuku running towards us. I guess Jiro and Koda finished their exam earlier than expected. It was our turn. I waited for Izuku to join me before joining Katsuki at our gate.

A voice rang out on a speaker at the top of the gate, "Team Midoriya, Bakugo, and Nakamura practical exam, ready – go!" The gate opened, and Katsuki sauntered in ahead of us. Izuku and I looked at each other briefly before entering ourselves.

We followed behind him for a moment until Izuku jogged up to meet Katsuki, "listen Ka-chan, for this exam the teacher's the villain, and we're the heroes, so we need a solid plan. Normally I'd suggest we take in the villain's combat ability and choose to fight them or run away based on that. But in this case, the villain is All Might so fighting him is out of the question. It's a really bad idea, Ka-chan."

"Stop following me," Katsuki growled, walking faster to pass Izuku. I shook my head as I watched the two.

"All Might's probably on this main road – we should take another route."

"I'm not going to run away from this fight. It'll look better if we blast that smile off his face."

"No! We should avoid fighting him no matter what it takes."

"I'm going to toy with him until the time is up and knock him unconscious for real."

"Think about this! You know what All Might can do, even with those handy-cap weights. It's impossible for you to win in a fight against him." Katsuki threw his arm out to hit Izuku. I threw my arm forward, my arrows grabbed onto Izuku and pulled him out of his reach.

"You're not as powerful as you think," I frowned, my arrows retracting from a very confused Izuku.

"I don't want to hear another word. Just because you two think you're getting stronger doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do." Katsuki glared at us. I stalked past Izuku and stood in front of him, blocking the way for Katsuki to try to hit him again.

"You want to prove that you're strong too? Show everyone here that you can work with your peers. You can't do this alone." I stared right into his eyes. My tongue travelled to my lip ring and began to play with it.

"You," Katsuki pointed the finger at my chest, "don't you dare get anywhere near All Might. Let me handle it."

I lowered my eyes at him and smacked his hand away, "we're a team you dick. We work together to escape or - if we're so insane as even to try – capture him. You don't make the decisions. If Izuku and I have to pass this exam ourselves, we will." He scowled and turned his back on us. He started down the main road again.

Izuku put his hand on my shoulder, "wait, Ka-chan, all we're trying to do is pass this final, for all of us!"

Katsuki snapped his head around, "I told you we don't need you or that dumb power to pass! I can win it all by myself!" Hatred seeped off him. My chest tightened at his harsh words. Dumb power? Izuku had fantastic strength and speed – when he didn't break. I could create anything if I had time to draw it. Our skills were not 'dumb'.

"Stop yelling! This is why we never have a real conversation," Izuku yelled back. I placed a hand over my forehead – I could already feel a headache coming on from these two without even needing to use my quirk.

"We're not kids anymore," I started to scold the two, but we were interrupted by a large gale-force wind ripping down the main road. It was All Might trying to push us back to the start – he was going to engage us. The arrows on my feet expanded out, embedding themselves harshly into the cement. I caught Katsuki and Izuku with the arrows on my hands, keeping us together – as a team – rather than sent flying to who knows where. I dug my feet into the dirt, the wind was strong, but I needed to hold on. The blast lasted for five seconds before it began to alleviate. I let the two down, my arrows retracting.

"Who cares if I destroy this city?" All Might stalked through the dust clouds towards us. "If you think of this as an exam and not a real fight – you'll be sorry. I'm a villain now heroes. Remember that. You better come at me with everything you've got. I won't pull my punches."

"It's over if we fight him head-on – let's run." Izuku turned on his heel and started sprinting away. Katsuki and I stood our ground.

"Don't tell me what to do," Katsuki shouted. "How about a stun grenade!" I covered my eyes as he let out a bright light. "You want everything I've got All Might? Like that wasn't my plan." He speech quickly became muffled and hard to hear. I uncovered my eyes; All Might was holding Katsuki by the face. He let off repeated blasts. All Might turned and smashed Katsuki into the ground; he gasped for air. He had it coming.

"Where are you running from?" All Might laughed, "don't think I've forgotten about you already young Midoriya. Were you going to leave your teammates here and run away?" I gripped onto a paint grenade on my belt. Izuku jumped backwards into the air as Katsuki rushed back towards All Might. The two collided in the air. They hit the ground hard. All Might was completely ignoring me.

What the fuck All Might?

Izuku stood up, trying to block Katsuki's advance on All Might. "Ka-chan – haven't you been listening to me? It'd be insane to fight him."

"Shut up!" Katsuki glared at All Might; his face craned towards the ground. "Scum – I will win this. That's what it means to be a hero, Deku." All Might turned to me and rolled his eyes. He was purposely ignoring me to egg those two on. How was I going to be graded if these two dipshits did nothing but argue? All Might ripped up a section of the guard rail.

"At the very least we should be trying to avoid him," Izuku reached out for Katsuki who swore and swatted him away.

"Incoming heroes! I have a gift for the one who wants to run," All Might captured Izuku against the ground with the guard rail.

Katsuki turned to face me, glaring more harshly than before, "run you, idiot!" I rolled the paint grenade in my hand and shook my head. Katsuki turned back to All Might and took a powered-up punch to the gut. His lunch was forced back up. Katsuki went flying.

I lifted my arms, arrows lurking around me, "maybe you should run." Izuku called out for Katsuki as he laid on the ground, unmoving.

All Might turned his attention to me. "And what does a washed-up Rockstar have to do against me?"

I raised my brow, "says the old man." My arrows converged onto All Might. He was light on his feet and dodge each as it slammed onto the cement.

"Hikaru, just run. If you can make it to the exit, we could still pass." Izuku pleaded.

My arrows pulled back after crashing into the cement and attacked All Might again, "if I do that, then none of us will pass!" I duplicated the shield on my arm and drew it out, enhancing the size to double that of All Might. I threw the shield forward. All Might latched onto it and was thrown back ten feet from the impact. My arrows attacked again, trying to bind All Might for the win. He tossed my shield away.

All Might gripped onto my arrows, bundling them up like a bouquet, and spun me over his head before slamming me into the ground. Fuck, that hurt. I looked up, my arrows retracting. Katsuki was trying to stand. All Might advanced on him. "I know why you're so angry young Bakugo. Because of young Midoriya's sudden improvement. But, you have to remember each of your rankings when the year first began. It's much easier to level up when you're a novice – you're wasting your full potential. Do you see that? Do you understand me? You still have so much room to grow stronger boy, and I don't just mean your quirk."

My shoulder radiated with pain. It had made contact with the ground first. I started to make my way onto my knees – I needed a moment to let this wave of pain ebb. All Might was giving us far too much time to recover between attacks. There was never this much reprieve in the real fights I had been apart of.

"Shut up All Might. If I'm so bad that I have to get help from a weakling like him – then I'd rather lose this. You hear me." All Might went to hit Katsuki again – but Izuku had broken out of his entrapment and got the blow in before either All Might or I could move.

"Don't you dare say you'd rather lose!" Izuku yelled as Katsuki went rolling down the path. He grabbed onto the rolling boy and disappeared down the alley. Aw shit. All Might was still watching the two dash away. I picked myself up, ignoring the pain in my shoulder, and dashed into the nearest alley. My arrows expanded outward and pulled me up the side of the building. If I had a bird's eye view, I could hopefully see my teammates. I slowly made my way over the tops of the buildings, drawing a bird on my arm. I replicated it to a dozen and set them out over the city. I watched as one followed above All Might to keep him tracked, the others flew aimlessly around. Where were they?

Found them! A bird circled a small alley across the road. They had to be waiting like I was, but were they trying to formulate a plan? I would not be able to cross the street safely without alerting All Might to our location. I needed to be ready. I took out a grey marker and drew a long strand of chain beside my arrows. I added two long spikes beside them. They might be able to restrain him – but it would be trial and error.

The bird began to head in the direction of All Might. They were planning to engage. I used my arrows to descend from the buildings, slinking along the alleys after All Might. I gasped, covering my mouth to keep from being heard. Katsuki rushed out onto the main road, firing explosions at All Might. Izuku came up from behind our teacher, hitting him with a blast from Katsuki's grenade launcher. No way, they had agreed to work together? Did All Might loosen something in Katsuki's brain? The two rushed past All Might for the exit. I ran through the alleys after them.

All Might caught up to the two in an instant, destroying both of the launchers the boys shared. This was bad. All Might elbowed Katsuki in the face, and he went flying into a building. Izuku rushed forward, but All Might grabbed him. Katsuki propelled himself back into the fight. All Might threw Izuku down, smacking Katsuki into the ground with him.

"Now isn't that wonderful boys," All Might beamed. He held Izuku by a limp wrist while he stood on Katsuki's back with a foot, forcing him to the ground. "Sadly, that's not enough. Cooperation wasn't an option – it was a prerequisite for the exam." He tossed Izuku away quickly. "You have no more heavy attacks. This is over."

"Shut up!" Katsuki let off a massive explosion from beneath All Might. He grabbed onto Izuku and threw him towards the exit with a blast. "No die!" I needed an opening.

All Might propelled himself back to the exit with a punch to the air. He made contact with Izuku's back. It cracked like an eggshell. "You're too naïve heroes!" Katsuki zoomed in on All Might again, letting out a massive explosion. He gripped his forearm in pain. All Might tried to dodge his attacks, but Katsuki kept putting himself in the way to protect Izuku. I watched from the alleyway as All Might held Katsuki by the face in the cement. I watched as Izuku jumped up, trying to punch All Might. His attention was stuck on him. He dropped Katsuki. Now!

I rushed out, grabbing onto Katsuki with my arrows while throwing the paint grenade at All Might. It exploded over him. I set Katsuki down out of his reach. I shoved my hands into the paint, focusing on solidifying the paint as it was. All Might laughed as he tried to lift his legs. He couldn't.

"Izuku, use these!" I replicated the chains into long strands with the stakes. Izuku quickly grabbed the chain, wrapped All Might in the strands and locked them to the ground with the stakes. Damn, he was trying to free himself that it was taking too much of my quirk's skill to keep him held down.

"Are you sure this will hold," Izuku asked once he added the final stake, smashing it into the concrete with his foot.

I nodded slowly, biting my lip, "take Katsuki and go. I'll be right behind." Izuku nodded after a moment, picking up Katsuki and leaving through the gate. I locked eyes with All Might, my mind was swirling with new thoughts.

The speaker boomed overhead. "You have captured the villain. Hero team wins." Recovery Girl announced. I sighed, letting my control over the paint and ink subside.

"Good job capturing me Nakamura," All Might laughed with glee. He shook his arms and tried to free himself of the paint.

I gave him a smile before falling forward.

* * *

"You look like shit," Katsuki glowered. I glared at him as he tossed the sheets off himself. He had just woken up after being healed by Recovery Girl, and those were the first words out of his mouth. Jerk.

"You look like fucking rainbows and kittens too." I rolled my eyes. "Can I leave yet?"

"Yes, but come back tomorrow so I can finish healing your collarbone. Bakugo – do walk Nakamura home. I'm afraid she won't be able to fend off those stalkers of hers with only one arm." Recovery Girl cooed. She held out two small cups for me. I picked up the first with my good arm, putting the Tylenol in my mouth before picking up the second and washed it back.

My jaw dropped, "I can make as many 'arms' as I need." I held up my left arm, my arrow duplicating on my skin.

She hit my knee with her cane, "don't be so rash! You don't have your provisional license yet. Just because your internship let you have free reign doesn't mean you can continue that!" I frowned, rubbing my knee.

"Hikaru can walk herself home," Katsuki scoffed, jumping out of his bed. I glared at him, sticking my tongue out childishly.

Recovery Girl smacked him across the chest with her cane. "Your clothes are in the bathroom. Change and you two can leave together. If I find out tomorrow you two didn't make it home together, I'll have you both in detention." She smiled evilly. Katsuki grimaced before stalking to the bathroom, slamming the door shut. "Congratulations on the nominations for Strike Nakamura. That song you sand at the sports festival – it's up for best single, isn't it?"

"Yeah," I sighed, scratching my knee through my pants. I had been able to change using one hand – thankfully – earlier. "We squeaked it in under the deadline."

"Did you happen to write it? You were very passionate when you sang."

"Yeah. It's not the first one I've written, but it was the first one I sang."

"You should sing more often, you invigorated your classmates."

The door to the bathroom slammed open. Katsuki walked out with a frown. Bag slung over his back. "You better be ready to go."

I frowned, "like I have a choice." I stood up from the bed, picking up my backpack and put it over my good shoulder.

"Bakugo," Recovery Girl snapped, "she rescued you, and that's the thanks you give her?"

He paled, "she did what?" Oh no, she didn't.

"Nakamura used her tattoos to pull you out of danger and trapped All Might – maybe if you would've worked together from the beginning, you wouldn't've needed to be saved." Recovery Girl had a smug look on her face.

Katsuki turned to glare at me. "I told you to run! You fucking went and fought All Might! That wasn't the plan."

"That was your plan, not the plan we should've made as a team," I clapped back. Katsuki tugged my bag off my shoulder and exited the nurse's office. I rushed after him. What the hell did he think he was doing? I finally caught up with Katsuki changing his shoes at the front door. "What the shit was that for?" He didn't respond and waited for me to slip off my vans into a pair of leather low top chucks. Thank you lack of laces today. He turned the moment I was done and left the school. I glared at his back as we walked to the out of the way train station. Odd, did he take this way too?

I glared at my poster as we waited for the train to roll in. It took forever and a day to arrive. We got into an empty train car, Katsuki stood by the door while I sat with my heels kicked into the ground. We rode in silence to my stop and got off.

"So, what was that song about? The one you and Recovery Girl were talking about." Katsuki spoke after a long silence. We exited the train station.

Why did he want to know? "Why I want to be a hero." As well as the promise I made to him when we were kids. If he even cared enough to remember.

He adjusted our bags, "why even be a hero if you have that gig going for you? Seems pointless to change things now."

I snapped my head to glare at him as we walked. "I will be a pro-hero if it kills me. There's plenty of heroes that maintain two jobs. Like Present Mic. He's a radio host, hero, and teacher." We turned off the main road onto my street.

That irked him, "so you don't care if you end up dead?!" I could see my home ahead of us.

"That's the hazard of the job – who knows what could happen," I shrugged trying to up my pace. Katsuki kept my stride. "I'm going to be the next number one, after all."

"Hell no! I'm going to be even better than All Might," Katsuki yelled.

"Watch me flip over that hydrant with no hands." I pointed ahead of us to a hydrant off the sidewalk in front of a small park.

"You're not doing that." Katsuki shook his head, "what did you even do to your arm anyway."

I stopped walked and bouncing between my feet. "Broken collarbone." I took off, running for the hydrant. Katsuki shouted for me to stop. I tucked my legs into my chest and flipped forward over the hydrant. I extended my legs and landed with a run. I stopped, spinning around to see a dumb stuck boy. His jaw was unhinged, and his head tilted forward. He looked like he did when we were kids, and I drew something new that came to life. "Think you can best me?"

Katsuki scoffed and continued towards me. "Of course, I can. But it wouldn't be fair to test that now."

I faked a gasp, "you have some morals? That's new." Katsuki glared at me again, turning down my front walk. He stopped at my door, and I opened my bag to take out my keys. I zipped my pocket back up, unlocked my door and retook my bag.

"You know that –" Katsuki started to say, pointing down the block.

I deadpanned, "I know where my old house is. Bye." I slammed the door in his face. I ran my hand over my face. "Gah, he is so infuriating!"


	6. Flights

"Unfortunately, there are a few of you who did not pass your final exams. So, when it comes to the summer training camp," Aizawa stood at the front of the class and looked over everyone. We all knew that Mina, Kaminari, Sato, and Kirishima had failed the practical – but had anyone failed the written? "Everyone is still going!"

"Seriously?" Mina shouted with tears in her eyes. Everyone began to cheer and shout. I could not help but smile. I was going to have an entire week free of anything work-related. It was a dream come true – finally.

"Yes," Aizawa nodded, "no one bombed the written exam. Five failed the practical, two teams and Sero. The training camp will focus on building your strength. Those that failed the practical will need it the most. We were never going to separate you, that was just a logical deception that we used." Those that failed hung their heads. Aizawa's grin widened. It was creepy, that smile did not suit his face. Kaminari and Kirishima reached around me to high five each other.

Iida shoot up from his desk, "this is the second time you've lied to us, aren't you afraid we'll lose faith in you?"

"That's a good point. I'll consider it. But I wasn't lying to you about everything. Failure is failure, we've prepared extra lessons for those that failed. Frankly, they'll be far tougher than what you would have faced in summer school." Aizawa shrugged. He picked up a stack of paper from his podium. "Everyone, but Nakamura, will be meeting at seven in the morning at the front of the school to head out for our boot camp. Come in uniform and don't be late. If you're late we're leaving you behind." Aizawa stressed as he handed out a packing list to the front of every row.

"Wait," I interjected, taking a list and passed the rest back, "what do you mean not me." I was not asking for a response.

Aizawa frowned, "does that manager not tell you anything? You're joining us late - he booked you for something." My jaw locked and I played with the ring in my lip.

"Booked," I asked after a moment, staring through Aizawa in disbelief, "he booked something new?"

"I would have a few choice words for him if I was you," Aizawa said from the front, "anyway. Its a boot camp so it'll be harder than anything you would have faced while here taking summer classes. Those that failed will be participating with the class and taking additional remedial lessons as I mentioned." I drowned out what Aizawa was saying and stared at the list. There were supposed to be no more additions to our schedule. What the hell was he thinking?

Once we were dismissed for the day, I dialled my manager. It rang once before he picked up, "ah, Hikaru! How did your exams go?"

"What is this that I'm hearing there's something new booked?" I ran up the stairs to an empty refuge. My classmates were eagerly discussing their week off prior to the camp.

"Oh, silly me, did I forget to tell you about that? We're flying out to Korea tonight for the next few days for some talk shows. Strike's newest release just hit ten million downloads there. They're going crazy for you."

"I'll be back in time to be at the training camp?"

"Of course! You'll be joining your classmates a few hours late, but you'll be going."

"And you won't pull me out early under any circumstance?"

"Never! This is school, it comes first."

I stopped myself from rolling my eyes at the blatant lie. "What time are we leaving?"

"Seven – I'll have a car ready to pick you up at six." My manager hung up. I scowled, making my way back to class. This was going to suck. It was already four, that gave me hardly any time to pack. I was going to miss the last two days of school for the semester too. That included the closing ceremony. The last ceremony I had attended was my first year middle school orientation. I've missed so much because of Strike.

"Hikaru," Uraraka skipped over to me, "we're going to the mall together tomorrow, do you want to come with us?"

I sighed, holding up my phone, "I wish. Apparently, I've got to be on a plane in three hours to head out of the country."

Her jaw dropped. "Are you sure you're going to be at the training camp?"

I gave her a smile, "of course. If I have to jump out of the plane mid-flight I will."

Mina frowned, wrapping her arms around Uraraka's back. "Does this mean you won't be able to go swimming with us next week?" I shook my head. "That's like, totally not fair!"

"Tell me about it," I spoke under my breath. "But, at least we'll have an entire week together. I'm turning my phone off the moment I'm at the camp."

Mina gasped, "we don't even have your number!"

"We don't? Why don't we change that," I held up my phone, Mina and Uraraka held up their phones to mine. Our information chimed as it was added to the others. "You've got to keep me updated."

The two nodded eagerly. I left the chatting classmates, heading back home with my head hung. If our managers would stop booking things, we would be able to have a fun summer. We would be able to be average teenage girls for a change. I sulked into my home, throwing down a suitcase and a duffle bag. I quickly went through the list, packing what I had. Anything that I was missing someone would be able to grab it for me. Once I had that bag packed, I turned to my suitcase with a sigh. I went through my approved clothes and picked out a week worth of outfits, skincare, and my favourite snacks.

I changed out of my uniform and into black yoga pants and an oversized long-sleeved shirt. I wanted this all to be done.

* * *

"Hikaru," Samira yelled, holding her glass of wine high. "We've been waiting for you."

I laughed, waddling into the suite with my bags. We always asked for a suite that had room for all of us so we would not have to sneak through the halls after our midnight get-togethers. "I expected us to all be on the same plane. Weird they changed it. I never want to be alone with my manager for that long ever again." Miki cracked open a beer and held it out to me. Samira let go of me and fell back onto the round poof chair. I set down my duffle and suitcase, sitting on the arm of the sofa beside Miki. Natsuki laid on the floor, legs resting on the chaise.

"We ordered in pizza, hope you're hungry." Natsuki stretched her arms above her, an empty shot glass in her hand.

"Anytime," I smiled, picking up the laminated schedule Miki's manager always printed for us. We were supposed to be in hair and make up by five for a late-night show that aired live at nine tomorrow. We had a photoshoot for a clothing line the next day followed by a recording of a feature on an Endurance song. Since when did we sign up for that? The last day was an early morning coffee talk show and interview followed by an evening appearance on a game show. "This is lame."

"Tell me about it," Miki poked my side. She turned back to her own beer. "Did they tell you where we're going after?"

"I hope it's back to Japan." I frowned. It was never that easy.

"Australia," Samira sang, almost dropping her glass.

"No." My jaw locked. Why the hell were we going to Australia? "Why the hell…?"

Samira stood from her seat to sit on my lap, pulling up an email from Vogue Australia she had been forwarded. I rolled my eyes, at least their managers kept them in the loop. "It's a bikini shoot!" My face paled as I thought of Mineta. I pounded back my beer. Natsuki selected our playlist and sent it to the speaker system. Miki and Samira grabbed each other's hands and began to dance like idiots.

* * *

I frowned, tossing the swimsuit from the photoshoot into my duffle. That was one of the small upsides to this job – the amount of random designer crap that you got from shoots. "Are we done with this shit yet?" I sat myself down on the bench in the change room, pulling my bra on. "I swear if we have to do bikini shoot number four, I'm out." We had already done one in Korea, Australia and now Japan within the week.

"You're lucky you get to end this tomorrow – they roped us in for the full break." Miki hung her head. "I have laboratory exams after too."

"What's even left for us to do today?" Natsuki turned towards Samira. She always kept our calendar up to date for us. I scrolled through my phone and sent a picture of myself on the beach to Uraraka and Mina with the caption that I was back in Japan.

Samira sighed, changing her bottoms to a pair of jean shorts. "We have a late-night talk show to perform on then another photoshoot in the morning before Karu leaves. Then we have magazine and radio interviews all week."

I sighed, "if only you could come to the boot camp too."

Miki held up her arm and poked her bicep, "I'd break if I tried that. Wait – isn't the guy from the Sports Festival who fought with broken fingers in your class?"

"You seem to be forgetting that I passed out before that event even started," I put my phone in the back pocket of my shorts. "But yes, that's Izuku – an old friend of mine. Though, he can use his quirk without breaking himself every time now."

Samira lit up, "is that the letters guy?"

I frowned, throwing my bag over my arm, "no, though Izuku was friends with him too."

"Where do you guys want to go for dinner?" Natsuki zipped her bag closed. "I'm feeling fast and cheap, McDonald's?"

We all laughed. If our managers found out we ate carbs the night before a photoshoot, they would murder us with their own hands. "It's our summer break, we have to indulge a little."

* * *

I hurriedly dismounted my bright red bike in the front yard, setting it against the stone wall, and shut the gate behind myself. I awkwardly adjusted the straps on my bookbag and pulled my guitar into a better position on my back. I took my keys out from my bookbag and fumbled with the lock. I quickly opened the door and shed my shoes in the entryway – heading straight for the phone. I dialled the number I had memorized since I was three and put the receiver to my ear. I dropped my bookbag and gently laid my hard shell, black leather, guitar case against the stairs.

"Yeah – what is it? Who's calling?" Katsuki answered after the third ring. "I got it you old hag!"

"Katsuki," I smiled sheepishly to myself, "I have some great news to tell you."

"I'm going out with my friends now. Call you back." He hung up. I kept the receiver in place against my ear and rested my palms on the wall in front of me.

"We got signed today. I wanted you to be the first to know. But, I guess you don't care since you never answer my letters and you ignore my phone calls." I picked up the phone, letting it drop down on its charger. I picked up my bookbag and guitar, slinking upstairs to my bedroom. I dropped my bag in the middle of my doorway and left my guitar at the end of my bed. I laid with my upper body hanging off the side of the bed. "Happy Birthday to me."

* * *

I stared out the back of the fancy car my manager had procured for us, "I thought we were supposed to be on a hiatus."

"You are – we're keeping you in very minimal media presence while you are all off galivanting around having fun pretending to be average." My manager said, waving his hand in front of his face. I licked my lips before biting my bottom lip off centre. I hated this man more and more since school started. I knew he had the best interest of the band in mind, but it seemed as if he cared more about that and money than our own happiness. "Oh – there's your teacher."

I turned to look out the window. Aizawa leaned against a black four-door sedan in a rest area. He watched impatiently as we pulled off the road. I went to grab my backpack and duffle, but my manager stopped me.

"You need to start thinking in terms of what will benefit the band. Not just this pipe dream of yours." He did not let me have a moment to respond as he opened the door to the car, got out of the car and began to converse with Aizawa. "I do hope you weren't waiting long. The meet and greet that I booked ran a little long."

Aizawa eyed me as I got out of the car, "a meet and greet, eh?"

"I didn't know about it either," I sighed, shrugging my duffle onto my shoulder and pulled my suitcase out of the trunk. I took out my phone and took the back off, removing the battery, "if anyone needs to reach me - they can wait until we're back in Tokyo." My manager gave me a stark glare before returning to the back of the car. Aizawa and I watched as the car pulled back onto the road towards the city.

"How did you end up with him," Aizawa scoffed as he stood upright.

"The label assigned them to us when we were signed," I frowned, following him into the back of the car. A woman with brown hair sat in the driver's seat. I pulled my suitcase beside me and rested my duffle on my lap.

"Ah! Is this Hikaru, it's lovely to meet you. I'm Mandalay," she waved back with a hand as she pulled onto the road.

"What have I missed?" I tossed my phone and battery into my duffle.

Aizawa shrugged from beside me and motioned for my seatbelt. I reluctantly complied. "They haven't made it to base camp yet."

"What? Is the bus late or something?" How was I going to be the first one to the training camp?

"They're just having fun with Pixie Bob and her mud creatures. They're about a third of the way to camp, so if they keep moving at this rate they'll be back at six." Mandalay cooed from the front. "Don't worry, we'll get lots of training in for you too!" I opened my purse and popped out two Advil and dry swallowed them. We went way too hard last night that my hangover was still throbbing.

"Headache?" Aizawa eyed me as I put them away.

"Late night performance and an early photoshoot – it doesn't help that we've been to Korea and Australia for work this week either." I sighed.

"They really are working you guys hard. It will be about forty minutes to basecamp if you want to try to get a nap in." Aizawa eyed me.

I gave him a smile, "thanks."

"If you can manage to sleep on the bumpy ride," Mandalay added.

I shrugged, pulling out an eye mask and earbuds from my bag, "I can fall asleep anywhere now after that world tour." I popped the earbuds in, selected an instrumental list, and snapped the mask in place. I laid back in the seat and drifted off in moments.

I awoke to the car coming to an abrupt stop. I slipped off the mask and paused the music, wrapping my earbuds around the small, older mp3 player. We stopped beside a large three-story building.

"Get your bags and Mandalay will show you the girl's room while I get your training set up," Aizawa said as he got out of the car. I was already gathering my bags and unbuckled. I followed the pro inside and down the main hall to a large room.

"This will be where the girls in your class will stay," she explained as I set my bags down against the wall. "You'll want to change into something to get dirty. When you're done come outside." She left the room, closing the door behind herself. I opened my duffle which contained most of what I needed for the camp. I stripped out of my Strike approved to meet and greet clothing, small ripped jean shorts and a distressed black tank top, and into my gym uniform. I retraced our steps and saw Aizawa speaking with two pro-heroes while a smaller boy sulked as he swept the walk.

"Oh! Is this the idol? I didn't know you were talking about Hikaru from Strike!" The blue-haired hero purred. "Just the epitome of youth and beauty. We're going to have so much fun moulding this kitten."

"That's Pixie Bob – she's a little much when it comes to all of you." Mandalay sighed. "This is Kota – he's my nephew and he'll be staying with us while you're here. Kota! Come say hi to Hikaru." The boy turned, sent me a death glare worthy of Katsuki, and returned to sweeping.

I smiled and nodded my head awkwardly, "alright – when do we start?"

Aizawa waived for me to follow him. I complied, following him around the back of the building. He lifted a paint can and poured it onto the ground. "You always faint when you try this move. I want you to try to make your little stickmen, as many as you can, and sustain them for as long as possible. When you wake up from fainting, do it all again."

My jaw fell, "are you psycho?"

"Should've gotten a better manager," Aizawa shrugged. "You could be out in the forest fighting monsters instead." Was that seriously what the others were doing? I would've been able to take most of them out on my own with my arrows if that was the case. I'd be able to save myself from an even worse migraine.

I glowered, kneeling in front of the puddle. "Not my fault my Manager doesn't do his job or tells me anything. Should've told him to shove it and stayed." I shoved my hand into the fluorescent green paint and created about one hundred stickmen by duplication in a few moments. I held the army as they muddled about between each other. My breathing started to stagger, and the corners of my vision darkened. Within the minute I was out.

"Where's Hikaru," I heard a voice yell. My head was raging. Was that Jiro?

"She's out back making up for what she missed." Aizawa replied, "you all can get your things from the bus and head to the cafeteria." I pulled myself up from the ground, my head was spinning like an amusement park ride. I frowned, paint was all over my front. Damn it. I looked like someone exploded a glowstick on me.

I heard a pair of feet rushing around the side of the building as they screeched my name. Mina came running with her arms held high. She stopped in front of me with her arms awkwardly hanging in the air. "Why are you covered in paint?"

"Training," I rolled my eyes as I tried to hug her. She yelped, covering her dirty uniform, and hurriedly backed away. "What, no hug?" I sluggishly ran after her, leaving a trail of green footprints around the side of the building.

Pixie Bob purred, "all our little kittens have joined us! How fantastic." She was fawning over Katsuki, Izuku, Iida, and Todoroki.

"You all look like shit," I stifled a laugh, holding onto my stomach. Everyone looked as if they had gone through the wringer. They were all covered in sweat and dirt. Though, I was covered in fluorescent green paint.

"Says the highlighter," Katsuki growled, holding his forearm in pain. I lifted my arms and stalked towards him. "What the fuck do you think you're doing?" I gave him an evil grin and rushed towards him. The entire class laughed as I chased him while he called me psycho.

"Enough," Aizawa yelled over the class. "Everyone, get your bags from the bus and drop them off at your rooms. Dinner will be served in the cafeteria and then you'll all be able to clean up." The class groaned as they began to sulk to the bus. "Todoroki – dry off Nakamura before she gets paint on everything." The two-toned boy I had barely spoken to walked over to me with an uninterested face, lighting up his hand. I threw out my arms to the side and basked in the warmth of his flame.

"My explosions could dry it in seconds," Katsuki sneered. I stuck out my tongue to him as he stalked off to get his things.

"Thank you, Todoroki," I smiled. The dried paint on my face cracked. I slung my arm around his shoulder and stalked off to the bus with him. "We don't talk too much – what's new with you?"

He gave me a confused look for a moment before relaxing slightly, "nothing's new."

I frowned, walking with my arm around his shoulder to the bus, "what do you like doing for fun?"

"Stay away from her Icy Hot Bastard!" Katsuki glowered, holding his bag over his shoulder.

I stuck out my tongue, "fuck off Katsuki." I let go of Todoroki and followed after the girls. The pressure in my head was getting to be too much. I would need the supply of Tylenol that I had brought desperately this week. I quickly found the tablets in my purse and dry swallowed another two before heading with the others to the cafeteria.

"I'm so jealous that you got to go surfing in Australia," Uraraka pouted as we entered the room. Only Kirishima and Saito had made it here before us. "And those swimsuits you got to wear were gorgeous!"

Kirishima perked up at the comment. "What's your size? If it fits you can have it." I slipped into the seat beside Kirishima, Uraraka and Mina sat across from us. More of our classmates began to trickle in.

"Wait," Kirishima swallowed his mouthful of rice, "Mineta – can you show me those photo's again." The small boy eagerly nodded his head, swiping through his phone at the speed of light. He held out his phone to Kirishima who promptly took it and handed it to me.

My jaw dropped. "Mineta you pervert." He had somehow managed to get his hands-on unreleased photos of all of Strike in skimpy bikinis in the waters off Australia. I quickly deleted the photos of us. "Aizawa – can we ban Mineta from any internet access?" Aizawa's eye twitched before he continued to eat his own meal.

Mineta fell to his knees as I handed his phone back to him, "how could you do that? My perfect evening material – gone. How cruel could you be Hikaru."

Mina shivered, "that's disgusting Mineta. We knew you were a pervert but that takes it to a whole new level." Mineta began to tear up, as he pretended to have a funeral for the photos. Thankfully, he had yet to realize that he could easily get a hard copy magazine within the month. Everyone was so hungry that they scarfed the food down as quickly as it came out. I ate as many carbs as I could – I wonder how made my manager would be if I went up a pant size.

"You look like you've never seen fried pork in your life," Kirishima eyed me as I ate my ninth piece.

I smiled in bliss. "I'm not allowed to eat it – but what work doesn't know won't kill them. The others will be so jealous." I reached into my pocket for my phone, but it was empty. Right. I had disassembled my phone. It would just be me and my classmates having our quirks abused by Aizawa and the cats.

"What do you eat then," Uraraka gawked as she scanned the table, "is there anything here they'd approve of?"

I pointed with my chopsticks to the seaweed salad, "just that. Since we had photoshoots every day, we were on a strict diet of fruit, veg, and protein. No carbs. No sugar. No fat." Minus the liquid calories in the alcohol we drank and the splurge at McDonald's that one night. We had to hide our food and milkshakes inside of our large band hoodies. Thankfully, we saw no one outside of a man trying to fix an ice machine. They would have been able to smell it all. I stood and pulled up my shirt to the bottom of my breasts. "This definition is going down the drain this week." Our end of the table burst out laughing as I piled more carbs onto my plate.

"Watch it," Katsuki snapped from the centre of the table, "you'll get sick!" I glared at him, keeping eye contact as I picked up a piece of tempura and slowly ate it. Katsuki rolled his eyes before returning to his own dinner. I returned my attention to the others and continued my last plate.

"That's kind of cute," Uraraka smiled as she ate her rice, "he showed some concern for you."

"I'll make sure to vomit in his shoes if he's right," I glowered, eyes sneaking a look at the blonde.

"Like a cat," Kirishima asked with his mouth full of beef.

"Watch what you say about cats!" Pixie Bob snapped as she changed a plate of tempura. Kirishima went as red as his hair.

I sighed, picking up my dishes. "I'm going on ahead to the baths. It'll already take me a while to rip all this paint off." I washed my dishes in the sink and put them in the drying rack before leaving the cafeteria. I returned to our room, took a black tank top and beige shorts, and heading to the baths.

"Hikaru," Mandalay ran down the hall towards me, "good thing I caught you. Leave your uniform in the change room and I'll get it all cleaned up for you!"

"Thank you," I smiled to her, bowing slightly. She smiled once more before running back down the hall. I continued off to the baths, entering the girl's side and stripped. I folded my paint soiled clothes and set them on the bench while putting my pyjamas in the locker. I pushed back the curtains into the bath area and my jaw dropped. "It's a hot spring!" My week off keeps getting better and better. I sat myself down on a stool and poured a bucket of water over my head, letting it refill as I scrubbed at the paint on my face. This would need a lot of work. I poured another bucket over my face. I kept picking away at the paint endlessly.

I had been working away at the paint for twenty minutes when the others came for their baths. I felt hands in my hair, and someone pressed against my bare back, "let me help with the hair at least." It was Yaoyorozu.

"Are you kidding me – it's in my hair too? I'm never going to be able to bathe this week." I sighed, rubbing the paint with the palms of my hands. Some of it came off in large chunks while others were minuscule. The others took time cleansing themselves as well – though with not nearly as much detail.

"Why are you covered in paint anyway," Yaoyorozu asked.

I sighed, pouring another bucket over my head. "Aizawa had me duplicate stickmen from a puddle of paint. I fainted into the puddle too many times to count. My lungs are probably coated in green too."

Uraraka shrugged, standing from her stool, "maybe try painting in a different direction. Like, try going backwards instead of forwards."

"I'll see if I can control where I land, but most of the time I only have a few seconds of warning until I've faceplanted." I sighed.

Yaoyorozu tapped my back, "there – it's all out of your hair."

"Thank you," I turned to smile up at her. She smiled back, moving to a stool to clean herself as well. I began to scrub even more forcefully as Uraraka joined the girls in the spring. This paint needed to come off. A few minutes later Yaoyorozu slipped into the water as well. I groaned, scrubbing at the dried paint on my face and neck. I wanted to soak so badly. Why did I have to have such a messy quirk? I should have hugged Katsuki while I was wet to ruin is bath experience as well. Damn it – there was always tomorrow.

"Oh, this is amazing," Mina yelled as she climbed up on a rock.

Jiro nodded, "it's amazing that they have a hot spring's here." I craned my ear. What that Iida yelling on the other side of the wall. I shrugged, splashing my face with water to try and loosen up the paint. I shoved my face into the bucket of water in front of me and rubbed away at the paint for as long as I could hold my breath. Everything was muffled under the water, but I could hear the girls shouting thank you when I resurfaced. I looked at myself in the mirror. I was green free. I smiled and scampered into the bath.

"That Mineta, it's not safe for us anymore," Hagakure groaned.

"What happened," I waded over to a deep part of the bath and faced the others. My head was still screaming but my body felt great.

"You missed all of that?" Yaoyorozu pointed to the top of the wooden separation wall with a look of surprise. I nodded. "Mineta just tried to peep on all of us, but Kota stopped him. He did take a tumble down on their side, but it sounds like someone caught him."

"He fell when he got a look at how attractive all of us are," Mina lifted her arms above her head on the rock. If she did that when he was trying to stop the boys from peaking that was reason enough for the boy to fall. That would surprise anyone.


End file.
